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Archive for June 2009
Today is the 181st day of 2009. There are 184 days left in the year. In 1936, the novel “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell was published in New York. Olympic gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps is 24. Today is Meteor Day — In observance of a meteorite crash (Tunguska Comet Impact) on June 30, 1908, in central Siberia, Russia. In the news today: The Dow rose 838.08 for the quarter that ended today here. And the Wild Card is in play …
A local construction worker, suspended from a crane, rescues a woman who fell into the Des Moines River near the Center Street Dam in downtown Des Moines, Iowa Tuesday. A man in his 50s found floating downriver from the scene was pronounced dead. (AP Photo/The Des Moines Register, Mary Chind)
They’re known as “boomerang kids” – young people in their late teens or early 20s (sometimes 
30s, and yes, even 40s) who have already gone to college or asserted their independence but are now finding themselves back at home with their parents. Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show that among 18- to 24-year-olds, 56 percent of males and 43 percent of females live with one or both their parents. With the tough economy, more young people are unemployed and with little or no savings. For some, the most obvious and perhaps easiest alternative is to go back home/Virginia DeLeon, Are We There Yet. More here.
Question: Is it a good idea for adult children to move back in with their parents? Should they pay rent and contribute to household expenses? Is it OK for parents to establish rules for these 20-something adults in their households? How long should they continue living at home?
Spokane Sheriff Marine Deputy Thad Schultz gives personal watercraft owner Randy Brown a warning after his wife drove to close to another watercraft Tuesday on Long Lake. The death of two teenagers in Coeur d’Alene this year raises concerns about safe use of personal watercrafts. (Colin Mulvany/SR)
Two festival goers enjoy mud wrestling at the Music Openair Festival St.Gallen, in Switzerland Saturday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/KEYSTONE/Ennio Leanza)
Top Cutlines:
Iraqis celebrate in Basra, Iraq’s second-largest city, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, earlier today. U.S. troops pulled out of Iraqi cities on Tuesday in the first step toward winding down the American war effort by the end of 2011. Story here. Community Comments take on the situation here. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)
Question: Do you believe the Iraqis will be able to maintain the peace w/o U.S. troops on hand? Or do you care?
Two individuals who attempted to pass bogus $100 bills at local coffee stands Monday 
afternoon were caught, as a result of solid police work by CPD Blue J. Shiflett. In the first instance, a male tried to pay a Caffeine Bean barrista for a $3 coffee drink with a $100 bill (that had the words “In dog we trust” and “For motion picture only” written on it). But he walked away to a waiting SUV when he saw her look at the bill closely. Later, his partner received $97.25 in change from Higher Ground Espresso. The first barrista was able to obtain video surveillance of the vehicle from a nearby convenience store. CPD Blue Shiflett later spotted the brown-and-block Ford Explorer parked at the Fairway Apartments (1905 Appleyway). Which led him to the culprits. Who confessed their roles in the attempt to pass the counterfeit bills — and handed the officer 19 additional bills. One of the males is currently on supervised juvenile probation.
With summer sunshine
all about,
the body parts start
peeking out.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
… at a North Idaho BBQ by Amateur Malcontent here. (9th photo under second item, “Picture Recap of Awesome BBQ Party”). You won’t be able to get the image out of your head. You’ve been warned.
I love the Northwest. It’s the perfect place for me to backpack around in my sandals and talk
about how great soccer is and how we need universal healthcare. There’s also plenty of Brazilian flute bands and Canadians to give the area a fully-rounded feel to it. However, when it comes to food, what does the Northwest have? Consider the following regional food designations: Northeast - Clam Chowder and Dunkin Donuts; South - Everything fried and bad for you; Midwest - Pretty much anything BBQ or involving beer; Northwest - ??? Starbucks? The rest of the West - Carl’s Jr/Brandon Hansen, Just South of North. More here.
HBO Numbers (for Monday, June 29): 7944/4602
Question: What kind of food do you think the Northwest should be known for?
This May 2009 photo provided by Runner’s World magazine shows Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in a yoga pose near her home in Wasilla, Alaska. Palin says she’d come out ahead if she went one-on-one with fellow jogger President Barack Obama in a long run, according to an interview published online Tuesday. (AP Photo/Runner’s World, Brian Adams) Question: Do you think Sarah Palin could beat President Barack Obama in a foot race?
The Idaho State Police have identified the 45-year-old California woman killed by a Union Pacific train at 9:57 last night at the Prairie Avenue crossing near Idaho Street in Post Falls. The victim was identified as Cynthia Broderson of Grover Beach, Calif. The next of kin has been notified. Broderson was lying on the tracks when she was hit by a train traveling 33 mph in a 49 mph zone.
See why Steve Crump/Twin Falls Times-News considers these 10 individuals to be the most important in Idaho’s history (even though some of them never set foot in the state) here.
Question: Who do you consider the most important person in Idaho history?
“Folks say that if you listen real close at the height of the full moon, when the wind is blowin’ off Nantucket Sound from the nor’ east and the dogs are howlin’ for no earthly reason, you can hear the awful screams of the crew of the “Ellie May,” a sturdy whaler Captained by John McTavish; for it was on just such a night when the rum was flowin’ and, Davey Jones be damned, big John brought his men on deck for the first of several screaming contests” — David McKenzie of Federal Way, Wash., to win the 2009 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest (for bad writing). Full results here.
Question: Can you write a bad lead sentence to an imaginery blog post re: life in an Inland Northwest town?
Brianna Webber puffs out her cheeks as she tries to get a first note out of a trumpet during an event at The Dalles Wasco County Library in The Dalles, Ore. Kids had an opportunity to experience drums, trumpets, saxophones, flutes and other instruments, and make some of their own. (AP photo/The Dalles Chronicle, Mark B. Gibson)
Question: Can you play an instrument? Which one(s)?
Just got back from a totally relaxing week on the Oregon coast, south of Yachats, north of 
Heceta Head Lighthouse. I did absolutely nothing. I was totally unproductive. I vegged big time. I lay around in my pajamas and ate cereal for dinner, in the living room, watching bunnies out the front window and ever-watchful bald eagles from the back window. The eagles starved and the bunnies were totally oblivious. I didn’t watch a clock. I took naps. I didn’t follow rules. I did, however, floss and took my vitamins. I ate whatever I wanted; got up when I felt like it; dressed when I felt like it (some days, never). I became civilized occasionally and dressed appropriately and blended in with other tourists in the quaint Old Town villages of Newport, Waldport, and Florence/JeanieS, Nuts & Nonsense. More here.
Question: Describe your perfect vacaction.
In this June 7, 2008, file photo, confetti falls around former comedian Al Franken after he accepted the Democratic endorsement for U.S. Senate Senate from Minnesota Saturday at the party’s state convention in Rochester, Minn. Today, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Franken was the winner of the tight general election contest with Republican Norm Coleman, giving U.S. Senate Democrats the 60-seat majority to overcome procedural obstacles and push through their agenda. Story here. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Question: Do you think it’s good for the country that U.S. Senate Demos have a 60-seat majority?
The Consumer Product Safety Commission sets off fireworks inside of a
watermelon to demonstrate the dangers of fireworks and encourage safety on the
fourth of July today in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Copyright protection in the online world is going to be an exciting area of discussion in the 
coming years, and columnist Connie Schultz got the ball rolling recenly with her piece in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Schultz writes about a recent panel discussion during which David Marburger brought up the idea of dramatically changing federal copyright law to protect those who produce news. David Marburger is a First Amendment lawyer who has done a good amount of work for newspapers. In her column, she quotes Marburger’s ideas on how to go after free-standing web sites and local television stations that pull newspapers stories and post them online/Steve McClure, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here.
Question: What would happen to blogs and Web sites, if copyright laws were expanded to protect those who produce news?
Arrested last November, Clinger was accused of speeding away from the cops with his son, Daniel Clinger, who had been involved in a knife fight at a Chattaroy lounge. I ask you: What sonny boy wouldn’t want his ol’ pop to come racing to the rescue when blades are brandished in a barroom? It brings tears to my eyes, I tell you. This isn’t a story about irresponsible behavior from a trusted public servant who should get the book thrown at him. This isn’t about breaking the law and running from the police. I’ll tell you what this is. This is Spokane’s version of family values/Doug Clark, SR. More here.
Question: Just what does a bad-apple Spokane cop or firefighter have to do to get the book thrown at him/her?
Item: Man jailed after dog dies in car at Spokane Valley Mall/KXLY
More Info: More Info: A North Idaho man spent the weekend in jail on charges he killed his dog by keeping it locked up in a car with no water or ventilation. The incident happened last Friday when Charles Eschenbacher decided to take in a movie at the Spokane Valley Mall. It’s likely that Eschenbacher was very fond of his dog however when he brought his Black Lab “Crossfire” to the Valley Mall he must have underestimated just how hot his Ford Mustang would get because it didn’t take very long for the dog’s suffering to attract attention.
Question: Jailing the owner of the dog for the weekend seems over-the-top to me. I doubt that he intentionally left his dog in the car to die. This is a sad situation. But jail seems harsh. What do you think?
“Just about everyone who’s lived in North Idaho for a few decades has enjoyed floating the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River. It’s river rafting without the rapids or need for a guide. On a hot summer day you can find literally thousands of people in all manner of devices that inflate and later in the season you can enjoy the solitude of far fewer floaters. An informal survey of license plates on the cars and trucks parked alongside the Old River Road tells the tale … it’s a local favorite pastime”/Councilwoman KerriT, OnLocation North Idaho.
Question: When did you last float the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River?
Item: Nampa Classical Academy addresses use of Bible as source material in classroom/Bryan Dooley, Idaho Press Tribune
More Info: Teachers will refer to the Bible when it adds valuable context to discussions of the development of Western civilization, literature or specific historic events, Borger said. Portions of the Quran will be used similarly in a class discussing Middle East history, he said. The press release issued by the school states that the texts will not be used to establish factual truth, but as a primary source to offer greater understanding of history and culture. “Nampa Classical Academy is dedicated to using direct source materials whenever and wherever possible. Instead of relying on the opinions of historians, Nampa Classical Academy will study the writings and documents most closely associated with that historical event,” school officials wrote.
Question: Do you agree with the approach that the Nampa charter school is taking re: use of Bible and Quran in the classroom?
Item: Drag racers given probation: Drivers in fatal crash free after six months in ‘rider’/Tom Hasslinger, Press
More Info: Two men involved in an accident that killed a 14-year-old boy and injured his mother received probation Monday — less than six months after being sentenced for the crime. Dominick F. Salois, 21, and Daniel W. Cutting, 20, were sentenced in First District Court in February for their roles in the Oct. 13, 2006, crash that killed Isaac Norris in Coeur d’Alene. Judge Fred Gibler decided both men should begin serving supervised probation rather than more time in confinement. … The decision left the families of the offenders grateful, and members of the Norris family bewildered.
Question: Is six months incarceration an adequate punishment for killing a boy while drag racing?
Scott Stantis/Birmingham News
Today is the 180th day of 2009. There are 185 days left in the year. On this day in history: In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled the death penalty as it was being meted out could constitute “cruel and unusual punishment.” In 2003, actress Katharine Hepburn died in Old Saybrook, Conn., at age 96. Actor Gary Busey is 65. In the news this evening, LBGT attendees at the Pride Month reception at the White House gave President Obama a warm reception today here. And the Monday Wild Card is in play …
Louis-PhilippeJean, of Port-Cartier, Quebec, grimaces as he lifts a stone in the Slater King of Stone Challenge at the Fortissimus World Strength Challenge on Sunday in Montmagny, Quebec. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jacques Boissinot) Question: What is the most weight you’ve ever lifted with your arms at one time?
I recently posted that the insurance company delayed its payment for my prescription for Vancomycin. I wrote I would be lenient, not passive, patient, not pushy. The payment was made to Broadway Apothecary on Friday afternoon and I will be getting a check from them this week. The insurance covered 98% of the medicine’s cost. Leniency was easier for me than going ballistic with someone on the phone. Or ragging on the apothecary/Raymond Pert, Kellogg Bloggin‘.
DFO: I’ve had a number of problems with insurance companies over the last five years or so, including a series of problems that prompted me to switch my health insurance. Earlier this spring, I had to fight my car insurance company to get my family reimbursement for treatment stemming from that December 2007 crash in the Spokane Valley. Patience got me no where. I finally got pushy and won reimbursement.
Question: Have you had trouble dealing with insurance companies? What is the best approach in dealing with them when they drag their feet — patience or pushiness?
The Coeur d’Alene Summer Theater presents the Zany Mel Brooks Broadway hit, “The Producers,” Friday through Saturday, July 18, starring Eric Hadley as Max Bialystock, Jen Davis as Ulla, and Matt Wade as Leo Bloom. (J. Bart Rayniak/SR)
Participants in the ‘Drum Parade’ drag a truck with ropes which are linked to hooks and attached to their backs, during the ‘Drum Parade’ in Madrid, on Saturday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
Top Cutline:
This afternoon Coeur d’Alene Fire Department crews responded to a small forest fire on the 
North side of Tubbs Hill. Crews were able to quickly extinguish the fire that appeared to be caused by an improperly discarded cigarette. Although as temperatures rise and with the fourth of July right around the corner fire crews are getting a little worried according to Fire Chief Kenny Gabriel. “The fourth is always a wildcard day for us. We always want residents and visitors to the City to celebrate, we just want them to be aware of where and how they are doing it” states Chief Gabriel/Bobby Gonder, Coeur d’Alene Fire Department. More here.
I’m sad to admit that last night I caught my first fish of the season. Last year, I bought my fishing license on January 1 and started fly-fishing in waist-deep snow. I’d landed plenty of trout from rivers and creeks from Washington to Montana by this time last year. Last night was a momentous occasion. Not only did I pull in my first fish of the season, but it was the first time I had been out fishing on Spirit Lake/Taryn Hecker, Taryn A. Hecker Photography. More here.
Question: Have you caught any fish yet this season?
Idaho taxpayers employ the equivalent of more than 27,000 full-time workers in the state’s 
public school system. Of those, about 55 percent are teachers - a decrease of about 5 percent of the pie since the state implemented its school funding law in 1994. On the surface, that’s not so troubling. But the problem is the burgeoning fleet of non-teacher staff flooding the ranks of school employees. Over the last 15 years, the state has added administrators and other school employees at a much faster clip than teachers or students. The oversaturation of non-teaching staff is endemic and defies legitimate trends in public school enrollment/Wayne Hoffman, Idaho Freedom Foundation. More here.
Question: Are you concerned re: the point that Wayne Hoffman makes — that the number of Idaho teachers are declining while support staff increases?
Frank Ricci, left, lead plaintiff in the the “New Haven 20” firefighter reverse discrimination case speaks to the media outside of Federal Court in New Haven, Conn., today. The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge. More here. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill) Question: Does this reversal raise questions re: the judgment of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor?
Digger: Hey, does anyone have a way of getting comp (or discount) tickets to go see CDA Summer Theatre’s production of “The Producers”? I looked online and they’re $40 a pop - a little spendy for Spazz and I since we just paid for our commitment ceremony. (Photos coming soon!) Any leads or assistance would be appreciated!
Joker: Digger, Unbelievable. You’ve been married/committed for less than six months and you’re already complaining about being broke. Welcome to marriage pal. You better clear that purchase with the significant other before this escalates to flow blown situation. Get NetFlix and the problem is solved!
Question: (I could add insult to injury by pointing out that I have season tickets to the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre this summer, but I’ll simply ask): Can anyone help Digger? Or: What was your financial situation when you got hitched?
MIA spotted this sign outside John Montandon’s Ace Hardware on Sherman in CdA a few minutes ago. She isn’t familiar with this product and is hoping some savvy HBO’ers might be able to enlighten us on it’s proper application. Question: Anyone?
Tony Stewart
(when asked by SReporter Alison Boggs if racist fliers dropped on Coeur d’Alene lawns represents a resurgence of the Aryan Nations): I definitely think it’s something else. It’s not something to ignore, but for (those of us) who have been observing this for almost 30 years, there is no comparison. Richard Butler came here and created the compound and had all the buildings, and had both a political organization and a so-called religious organization, and had services there every Sunday. That is a major difference between what seems to be two men who have no facilities, and who … operate out of a post office box, who are trying to suggest that they’re somehow significant compared with (Butler). There is no evidence they have any followers.
Question: What do you tell out-of-state friends, family, and others when they ask about the Aryan Nations presence in the Coeur d’Alene area?
Now (and I mean this as a compliment to the character of Idahoans) we more often than not 
take the honesty and selflessness of strangers for granted. Today, as I was out for a ride with my wife and two young children in our blue 1989 Jeep Wrangler with 170,000 miles on the odometer, our vehicle decided to die at an intersection on Ustick. The guy behind us not only got out to help me push the Jeep out of the way, he offered to give us a ride. While this has been known to happen in Florida, what happened next does not. In the next 10 minutes, as my wife phoned a friend for a ride and I troubleshooted the mechanical problem, no less than six more motorists stopped to offer assistance/Michael McAuliffe, 2C Etc. More here.
Question: Have you ever been the beneficiary of a Good Samaritan’s actions in Idaho?
“We spotted a handsome young bull moose munching in a roadside marsh on the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River,” posts Councilwoman KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho. “When he was full, he wandered up the bank into tall grass for an afternoon nap. Photos HERE. Earlier in the day, though, people enjoying a day at Lake Coeur d’Alene’s Independence Point Park got up close and personal with a wandering young moose who likely came from Blackwell Island by swimming across the Spokane River. The moose wandered across the Coeur d’Alene Resort front lawn to city park and was seen in downtown Coeur d’Alene for an hour or so.”
I’ve just spent the weekend with about ten friends I grew up with and/or went to high school with 
in Kellogg. In terms of employment, I suppose it could be said that several of us got above our raisin’. Most of us are working in jobs that are more lucrative than what we could do in Kellogg. But none of us have forgotten where we came from and how hard how mothers and fathers worked in Kellogg and how hard we worked and work in Kellogg to make what we presently do possible. It’s humbling. We know our own hard work and that of our parents has been rewarded. It’s been possible to go on cruises or get into a mortgage or raise children who were not deprived; each in our own way, we’ve had it pretty good/Raymond Pert, Kellogg Bloggin’. More here.
Question: Do you know school mates from your Glory Days who got too big for their britches?
Pitch man Billy Mays fires a burst of bugs at a windshield while filming an infomercial for a new windshield wiper blade on June 5 in Safety Harbor, Fla. Mays, the burly, bearded television pitchman whose boisterous hawking of products made him a pop-culture icon, has died. He was 50. Tampa police said Mays was found unresponsive by his wife Sunday. A fire rescue crew pronounced him dead. AP Photo/ St. Petersburg Times, Jim Damaske) Question: How often do you watch infomercials?
Fred Powell sits amidst his sizeable collection in a small building in the back of his home in the Azalea District of Tyler, Texas. Powell, known as “The Record Man,” collects, sells and trades old vinyls as a hobby. Many, of course, are scrambling to see if they have old Michael Jackson vinyls among their albums gathering dust in the garage, to sell on eBay or elsewhere. Did you look to see if you had a Michael Jackson album after the King of Pop died last week? (AP Photo/Tyler Morning Telegraph,Jaime R. Carrero)
Is it my imagination, or is it the case that when a Democrat goes astray, it’s a personal failing, 
and when a Republican splashes into the tabloid section, it’s a larger lesson? I just about spewed the morning coffee when I read the lede of Cal Thomas’ column excusing Mark Sanford’s fall, because “it could happen to any of us.” It could happen? A sunny day could happen, or you could run over a nail and happen to get a flat tire, but in order to fall into temptation and start an affair with someone in another country, I think one has to take some specific actions to initiate matters/Tom Von Alten/Fort Boise. More here.
Question: Do you agree/disagree with Cal Thomas’ contention that something like the affair that encircles Gov. Mark Sanford, R-SC, could happen to any of us?
Not only did Spencer discuss his recent scrape with the law in good humor here on HBO on Friday, but he took some of the best mug shots I’ve seen from the Kootenai County Jail. As you Merry Hucksters know, Spencer, the local government watchdog, was subject of a citizen’s arrest by a local re-po man when he entered a tow yard to get personal belongings from his Mercedes. Spencer said he had permission to do so from the highway district that he says owns the lot. The re-po man said he didn’t. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
Item: Minnick close to joining the party of ‘No’: Stand against Waxman-Markey energy bill troubling/IdaBlue
More Info: Minnick cites some decent reasons, but I think they’re window dressing. He’s subordinating the possible to the perfect to give himself cover for voting against it. “Because we can’t have this other, better way of doing it, I’ll just forgo doing anything helpful.” Politically expedient in Idaho, yes, but not helpful. I think Walt is subordinating the needs of the country to his political future in true Party of No fashion.
Question: On Friday, Minnick did vote against the Waxman-Markey energy bill, or the cap-and-trade bill. Did he vote correctly, in your estimation?
Item: Madoff sentenced to 150 years: Federal judge gives maximum sentence to Ponzi mastermind following his apology and victims’ request for life sentence/CNN Money.
More Info: A federal judge sentenced Bernard Madoff, the convicted mastermind of the largest and most sweeping Ponzi scheme ever, to the maximum sentence of 150 years in federal court Monday. Judge Denny Chin of U.S. District Court in New York announced the sentence just moments after Madoff apologized to his victims. “I live in a tormented state for all the pain and suffering I created,” Madoff said. “I left a legacy of shame. It is something I will live with for the rest of my life.”
Question: Was the sentence appropriate?
Item: In 3-on-3 event, all of Spokane is inbounds/John Brunch, NYTimes
More Info: And so began the 20th annual Spokane Hoopfest, the world’s largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament, and the numbers were more staggering than ever: 6,701 teams, 26,253 players and an estimated 13,000 games covering 40 city blocks and two sun-drenched days. Hardly an original idea — 3-on-3 basketball tournaments have been around for decades — Hoopfest has grown unlike any other. Just how an out-of-the-way city of 200,000 people became the 3-on-3 capital of the world says a little about Spokane’s hoop madness (it is home to the former professional star John Stockton and to the college basketball powerhouse Gonzaga University) and a lot about a little city’s penchant for pulling off big events.
Question: Did you participate in Hoopfest as a player, volunteer, or observer over the weekend?
Generally, I don’t rerun a photo, but I want to make sure as many people in Spokane/North Idaho see this, as possible. Especially those who visit Independence Point, City Beach, or City Park. Don Sausser, HBO’s Eye On Sherman Avenue, snapped this photo around 10 a.m. Saturday of a young moose brushing by that stunned person in orange on its way to visit Mudgy the statue Moose at Independence Point. You can find another photo of the moose in the Independence Point parking lot here.
OrangeTV: One unfortunate thing I’ve learned with all the celebrity deaths in the last week is how tacky and disrespectful people can be. It surprises and saddens me when people who I thought were above such bad taste actually go there. Call me crabby or oversensitive, but can we at least wait until the bodies are cold in the ground before we start ripping on them? Sheesh.
Question: You’re not suppose to speak ill of the dead, according to an old adage. But does that apply to celebrity deaths, too?
HMOffsuite: I once had the neighbor from hell. He built a new house next door to mine and 
built it wall to wall on the property lines. It was tasteless and really ugly. He used my back yard to cross to his and all the heavy equipment went right by my back door. I had the Sheriff out 3 times and the neighbor would be told to stop crossing my property, etc. When the Sheriff left, he would go back to doing what he wanted. He claimed a ‘prescriptive easement’. It wasn’t and he was trespassing. It got really confrontational and I felt I was one shot of Wild Turkey away from getting shot. So, I quietly took the high road, sold my place, bought a different one and moved before any litigation got started. Bottom line is it was the best thing I ever did.
Question: Do you have good or bad neighbors at the moment?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
The moose wasn’t the only wild thing running through City Park Saturday. During an evening walk through the park Saturday, I saw a domestic fight in which the male grabbed his galpal’s crutches and threw them from her before pulling a ring off her finger and throwing it away. Within moments, I saw some young jerks messing with Mudgy at Independence Point. One stood on the statue’s back. Another hung from an antler. Mebbe it’s good that we do have a lot of cops downtown to keep a lid on things. Here’s your Sunday Wild Card …
I busted a gut laughing at the main thread of the comments section Friday, when the stars came together and old-fashion thread that featured great debates and great humor came together. Spencer deserves a H/T for his willingness to discuss his trespassing scrape that landed him in the Kootenai County Jail for a few hours — and to bat back quips from Joker and others re: his stay. (BTW, I appreciate Spencer’s return to HBO, even though he makes many of us crazy at times.) Another good debate was the one launched by Editor Gary Graham’s question re: the paper’s decision to publish stories re: the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett on Friday’s front page. The CAVEr attack on popular Councilman Woody McEvers was good for another laugh — even prompted Mary Souza to comment that I’m a low-down character. (Usually, she and Gookin just think it.) So, let’s dedicate this Wild Card to Spencer for launching TGIF with his e-mail to me …
In the next two photos by Don Sausser (special to Huckleberries Online), you see a small moose that was on the loose @ Independence Point about 10 o’clock this morning. Check out how close the moose got to the two families emerging from parked cars to enjoy a day in the sun @ City Beach below.
Don Sausser, HBO’s Eye On Sherman Avenue, spotted this unusual site @ Independence Point two hours ago — a moose that was wandering across the parking lot.
Joker: Inquiring minds want to know: What’s your prison nickname? Slick, the Hair, Grease lightning, the whistleblower? Watchdog? How was the grub? Did you pull a maggot out and feed it to a blackbird? Did you see any guards swiping oxycotin pills? What color jumpsuit did they hand out to you? Did you get any prison tats? Did you make a shiv? Did anybody try and stick you with a shank? Did you join a gang? Did you get to drink homemade booze that was hidden in the toilet? How was the football game against the guards?Is Captain Bryon Hadley the meanest guard to turn a screw in Shawshank?
Spencer: I thought I was funny when they asked questions to decide if I was a suicide risk. They asked if I had anything to look forward to when I got out and I said “yes, a good cup of coffee.” He decided it might be unlikely that I was going to kill myself over this charge and he sent me back to my holding cell.
Question: Elsewhere on this great thread re: Spencer’s scrape with the law, Redman appreciates Spencer’s ability to see humor in situations like this: “It’s cracks like that which make it very difficult for one to be mad and upset with you for any more than a couple of days.” Do you consider Spencer the most likeable of the CAVEr clan?
Pabst competes in the World’s Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair on Friday in Petaluma, Calif. The toothy 4-year-old Boxer mix won top honors. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Question: Describe the ugliest dog that you’ve ever owned?
Marianne Love: The sin lies not in the fact that the Spokesman-Review chose to run
both stories 
on the front page. I believe that the sin lies in the
nonstop coverage that will likely occur on cable news stations for the
next several days. People like me have learned to find other things to do for a few days besides watch TV within hours of when these events occur. Yes, I stood transfixed to the television coverage for a while
yesterday because I was shocked like the rest of the world. I believe
both celebrities left a mark on their millions of fans and deserved
headline coverage. Once the first regurgitations of facts and speculation began, however, I got on my bicycle and went for a ride. Full comment below. Rest of terrific thread here.
Question: In big media events, like the death of Michael Jackson, how much can you take before you tune out?
Holy crap! This is the sort of thing neighbors did back in the… like… 1950’s! I hope they have a great party, and as far as I’m concerned … if anybody DOES call the cops, THEY’RE the obnoxious ones — Otis G/Otis G Experience.
Question: I hope you can read the note that Otis G’s neighbors stuck to his door. In it, the neighbors warn that they’re going to have a DJ for their daughter’s 16th birthday party from 6 to 10:30. And that everyone will be gone by midnight. They’re apologizing in advance if the party is too loud and inviting Otis G and other neighbors to drop by. Has any of your neighbors done anything recently that exhibited old-fashioned neighborliness?
Sisyphus:
I had a car quit on me recently. It was not worth funneling more money
into it so we parked it out front letting the new one occupy that space
in the garage. We spent a couple days evaluating how best to unload it
when damned if one of my neighbors didn’t call the cops saying it was
abandoned. I thought that was pretty chicken shyt since no one
complained to me about it first. I think I’d rather have you as a
neighbor Lynne, not that I’d leave a car parked for two years, but you
seem to have much more patient than the busybodies I have.
Question: Sisyphus brings up something I’ve been wondering about. As I listen to Scanner Traffic, I’m struck by the number of times per day that people sick the cops on others, neighbors on neighbors and motorists on other motorists, via cell phones. Have we become a nation of busybodies?
Item: Mead educators report to boot camp: Former student offers a taste of Marine life/SR
Gregor Samsa: Wow. Rather than glorify a program probably intended to amp teachers up
to be 
better recruiters in high schools for the military, to convince
kids that their future interests are best served as being cannon fodder
for the loathsome and evil Military-Industrial Complex, why don’t we
send teachers to buddhist camps and meditation education programs where
they can open their closed minds to a world without gun and grenade
slinging hate bots, a world without the need to dominate others at the
point of a gun. Sorry. Not impressed.
Question: Do you see anything wrong with local educators participating in boot camp to get a taste of Marine life?
Fishwife: The black gloved, omnipresent CDA cops won’t win the incumbents any
votes. I’ve never seen a town so saturated with cops. They are
everywhere and need lessons in social diplomacy. A legion of blues show
up for every city park encounter I’ve witnessed. They are not very
polite and I feel unsafe around them.
Joker: I’d rather have more cops around then the legion of punks down at
Independence Point who congregate, fight, and generally make a nuisance
out of themselves. Ever been downtown after 10 p.m. on a weekend? Bunch of loudmouth drunks.Yes cops can be jerks. No doubt, but feeling unsafe? Come on. That’s just silly
Question: Would you rather have too many or too few Coeur d’Alene police officers downtown after 10 p.m. on weekends?
I’m going to take a second from our Colombian adventure and make a
movie-oriented note: The 
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
has apparently found a new way of promoting itself - or, more exactly,
the art of cinema that it tries to represent. It’s going to allow 10 Best Picture nominees to be named for its 2010 ceremonies. OK,
I’m not sure about anyone else, but I can’t remember a year in which I
thought that there were 10 films worth naming as Best Picture. Some
years I’d have been hard pressed to name five. Ah, well, now maybe Steven Seagal will have a chance. Kidding, I’m kidding/Dan Webster, Movies & More.
Question: Do you think the best movie of the year generally wins the Oscar for Best Picture? Or are there other factors in play — like political correctness?
Today is the 177th day of 2009. There are 188 days left in the year. On this day in history: In 1945, the charter of the United Nations was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco. New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is 35. Germany is celebrating Rat Catcher’s Day in honor of the Pied Piper getting rid of rats in Hamelin on this day in 1284. In the news today, the House passed climate change legislation on a 219-212 vote here. And the TGIF Wild Card is in play …
This image provided by NASA Wednesday shows Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, Expedition 20 flight engineer, watching a water bubble float freely between him and the camera, showing his image refracted, in the Harmony node of the International Space Station earlier this month. (AP Photo/NASA)
Mead High School teacher Kathy Carman reached a milestone in February. At 62, she 
completed Marine Corps basic training. Well, a portion of it anyway. In her high school classroom, she proudly displayed a badge that read: “Honorary Marine Recruit: This is to certify that the bearer has successfully completed the first two minutes of the twelve weeks of Marine Corps boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego.” Carman and her longtime classroom assistant, Jeanine Munter, spent four days in San Diego as participants in the Marine Corps Educators Workshop. The program is designed to give teachers a firsthand look at the making of a Marine/Cindy Hval, SR Voices. More here.
Question: How well do you think you’d do at Marine boot camp?
At the Taryn A. Hecker Photography blog, Taryn has posted her “Best Of Camo” from the Spirit Lake Lawnmower Drag Races over the weekend. She dubbed the couple above as winners of the “Best Traditional His & Hers Camo.” You can see all the camo winners here.
Question: Which camo winners in Taryn’s various categories would you dub as grand champion?
iPhone fans Mitsuru Ando, left, Ryota Musha, center, and Yoshiki Ono share a light moment while waiting outside a Softbank office before the ceremonial event for the first day sales of iPhone 3G S in Tokyo, Japan, earlier today. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)
Top Cutlines:
I took the kids to last night’s Chamber of Commerce meeting at La Sierra, Spirit Lake’s lone Mexican restaurant. Bailey had been craving a bean burrito forever and was excited that I was finally taking him there to get one. I hadn’t realized that the waiter had brought Bailey a beef burrito instead of a bean burrito until halfway through the meal when Bailey asked me what they speak in Mexico. Spanish, I said. “Mom, does bean mean beef in Spanish?”/Taryn Hecker, Taryn A. Hecker Photography.
Question: Did you ever get “beef” for “beans” as a result of a language barrier?
Mike Trikilis, founder of Pro Arts in Medina, the company that produced the iconic Farrah Fawcett poster, holds an original poster in his apartment on Thursday in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. (AP Photo/Akron Beacon Journal, Mike Cardew) Question: Which posters of movie stars or singers did you have in your room when you were growing up?
JEERS — to Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, and Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls. They didn’t create an emerging bottleneck on U.S. Highway 95 north of Coeur d’Alene. But between them, these two legislators didn’t help matters much either. New Lewiston Tribune opinionator Marty Trillhaase explains why Henderson received a jeer here.
Question: Do you have a cheer or a jeer to give anyone for something s/he did this recently?
Item: Second TEA Party planned for Pullman: Organizers hope event encourages attendees to put message into action/Hillary Hamm, Moscow-Pullman Daily News
More Info: Jeff Williams isn’t sure everyone got the message during the area’s first Taxed Enough Already parties in April. Williams said the roughly 500 people who participated in the events in Moscow and Pullman understand the need for accountability in government, fiscal responsibility and standing strong by the Constitution. Now he wants to spread the word even more and start a revolution among people willing to challenge their elected officials. A second TEA Party Protest/Freedom Rally will take place in Pine Street Plaza in downtown Pullman at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Question: Have you attended any of the protest tea parties in the Inland Northwest?
Item: Should large people pay more to fly/Andrea James, Aerospace News, Seattle P-I
More Info: “You pay for checking your baggage, for snacks and for extra leg room,” writes CNN’s Stephanie Chen. “Word is one airline has even toyed with charging you to use the toilet. So it makes perfect sense to some fliers that heavier passengers should pay for spilling over into the next seat.” If eliminating plastic spoons can reduce weight enough to save an airline money, imagine how much they’d save if we all lost 5 pounds.
Question: What do you think?
Licensed Veterinary Technician Marilyn Omlor helps a deer fawn drink goat milk replacer from a lamb bar at Ponti Veterinary Clinic Tuesday. The licensed Wildlife Reabilitator is caring for the animals with “most minimum human contact” until they can be released on private property. Wildlife agencies urge people to leave young animals alone, because they are usually not orphaned. Becky Kramer’s SR story here. (J. Bart Rayniak/SR)
Editor Gary Graham: I’ve received one phone call and one email thus far this morning from readers who objected to the coverage of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett on the front page. Neither reader considers those deaths as real ‘news’ or worthy of front page coverage. I’d be interested in hearing what other readers think. Meghann’s right, too. The front-page treatment in various papers across the country is fascinating.
Question: Do you think the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett Thursday warranted front-page coverage in the Spokesman-Review this morning?
I didn’t realize until Joker posted a comment this morning that Councilman Woody McEvers is in 
the cross-hairs of OpenSEWER.com: “This week Gary Ingram depicted Woody McEvers as a buffoon and dangerous on the OpenCDA site. Dan Gookin is one of the main operators of that site. He never deleted the comment or asked Gary to be civil. Instead Gary’s comment was “frontpaged” and more discussion about it took place. Where’s the outrage Mr. Gookin over a public slam that atttacks Mr. McEver’s character?” In checking out Gookin’s site a few moments ago, I found four posts aimed solely or partly at Woody within the last week. Which means Gookin, Souza, McCrory and their sockpuppets are trying to soften up the popular incumbent should he seek re-election this year. Or discourage him from running again. Either way, Gookin & Co. don’t live by the creed of civility that they espouse in letters to the editor and columns in their house organ, the Coeur d’Alene Press. Then, I’m bringing more attention to this matter than it deserves. Rightfully did Phaedrus observe re: OpenSEWER.com: “That insignificant little ghost town in cyberspace is nothing more than a circle-jerk of character-besmirching and words-in mouth-placing conducted by the bitter few against those who have vanquished them.”
Question: Do you want Councilman Woody McEvers to seek re-election?
No, this is not about “American Pie” or the real-life events referenced in the song. Catchy tune, though. Parts, anyway. Nor is it about Michael Jackson. His death is sad in the way all deaths are sad, but he never really meant anything to me. Call me a liar, contrarian, whatever, but I never really liked his music. Not even Thriller, which even some hipster-turd music snobs claim, either ironically or genuinely, is genius, but I don’t see it. Rick James is better than Michael Jackson and Rick James isn’t even that good. I’ll remember Michael Jackson as a sad and strange tale of American celebrity, but not much else. No, this is the death of Laid Off Loser/Laid Off Loser. More here. H/T: Treasured Valley.
Question: Have you either quit or thought about quitting a blog?
Newspaper front pages banner the death of Michael Jackson, in New York
Friday. World
reaction, and: Autopsy
conducted. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
But the thing is, increasing the office budget — for inflation or any reason — sends a terrible 
message. Not only is it out of step with the private sector. It’s even out of step with the rest of the public sector. Just ask Boise City Hall or the state Department of Health and Welfare, or any other agency that has been forced to cut staff jobs. The Idaho congressional offices all report brisk or increased casework — thanks to the recession, and the cumbersome task of helping agencies and grant applicants sort through the $787 billion economic stimulus law. But I’m just not buying the notion that the staffs really need more money to handle this caseload/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Should congressmen be expanding their offices during a recession when the private sector and even other public entities are cutting back?
On the Coeur d’Alene Press letters to the editor section today, Dan Gookin of OpenCDA.com lashes back on Councilman Mike Kennedy for an exchange they had at the June 16 City Council meeting. Kennedy accused Gookin of grandstanding and accused him of wanting condominiums or other development on the proposed site of the Education Corridor. Writes Gookin: ”If Mr. Kennedy wishes to besmirch my character in a public meeting, and place words in my mouth during public testimony, I would at minimum appreciate it if he would do his research”/Dan Gookin, Coeur d’Alene Press. Full letter here.
Question: I’m amused that Gookin & Co. always act offended when a public official has had his fill of their attacks and tactics and calls them out at a meeting. However, if Gookin’s right, do you think MikeK should ap-hollow-gize?
“Over 100 motorcycles paraded through Coeur d’Alene Thursday morning as members of Cal-Tex Riders took to the streets,” posts Councilwoman KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho. “The organization of retired law enforcement officers is in North Idaho for a convention. John Skeete of California drives a gorgeous orange Goldwing trike in the procession.”
Question: Can anyone explain to me why 100 ex-cops were parading their motorcycles downtown yesterday morning. It was sorta cool watching them go past the SR building. But what was the purpose of the exercise?
BillH (in response to question: What is the best things you can do to help a friend of loved one 
fight through cancer and cancer treatments?): My wife is partway through radiation treatment now, and if we asked her I think she would tell you that encouragement to “stay positive” is probably pretty low on the list. Be honest. Care. Really talk and really listen. Cancer is scary, personal, and can be very lonely. It is also a rollercoaster of emotions, so have some grace. And for every story you want to tell about a friend or a family member who “won the battle”, just know that she’s heard two other stories of women who haven’t. She’s in the hospital every day and she has eyes to see what this disease can mean. Just love her.
Question: Why do people say dumb things to others who are suffering physically or grieving?
Item: Pistons grab Daye at No. 15: Sophomore only Zag picked in draft/Jim Meehan, SR
More Info: No other Bulldogs were selected, a surprising development considering forward Josh Heytvelt was projected as second-rounder in numerous mock drafts and a first-rounder in at least one. Ex-Zags Jeremy Pargo and Micah Downs also didn’t hear their names called.
Question: Why do you think Daye was the only Gonzaga Bulldog taken in the NBA draft Thursday?
Re: Larry Spencer faces trespass charge/Huckleberries Online
I was authorized to enter the property in question, having asked the road supervisor at Lakes 
Highway District if I was within legal rights to go anywhere I wished on property owned by the Highway district, even if someone had erected a fence and posted it with no trespassing signs. The small impound yard is located right in the center of an un-built highway district right of way dedicated to the Lakes Highway District by deed a few years ago. This has been confirmed by examination of the map Book J page 26 in the recorders office, showing the plat of the “Little Tree” subdivision. When I went to the yard, I took a copy of the map from the assessors office, showing that the Lakes Highway property continued past the apparent end of the road (where the “bullpen” is located) and continues another thousand feet into the field beyond the small fenced yard/Larry Spencer. Full e-mail here.
Question: Do you think this story is front-page worthy for Huckleberries Online?
Nick Anderson/Houston Chronicle
Today is the 176th day of 2009. There are 189 days left in the year. On this day in history: In 1876, Lt. Col. George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry were wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana. In 1950, war broke out in Korea as forces from the communist North invaded the South. Singer Carly Simon is 64. Today is LEON Day - LEON is NOEL spelled backwards. (It is now six months until Christmas.) In the news politicians are calling for disgraced South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford to resign here. And another Wild Card is in play …
NBA commissioner David Stern, left, poses with Austin Daye, who was picked by the Detroit Pistons, during the first round of the NBA basketball draft in New York, this afternoon. Detroit picked Gonzaga’s Daye with the No. 15 selection. Daye becomes the fourth Zag to be picked in the first round. He was the only Zag taken in the first round this year. Jim Meehan’s SR story. ESPN’s NBA draft link here. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Conservative activist Larry Spencer of 1589 Southside Road, Cocalalla, was subject of a citizen 
arrest about 8 p.m. Wednesday when he tried to reclaim personal belongings from his repossessed vehicle. Spencer, 36, who identified himself as a “political consultant,” claimed he had been given permission to enter the locked and fenced tow yard of Auto Tracker’s Recovery @ 250 W. Bentz Road in the Rathdrum area, according to a sheriff’s report. But Matthew A. Mayo of Auto Tracker’s Recovery told deputies that Spencer had been told he would need to pay $45 in order to gain access to his vehicle. Spencer, who crawled under the tow yard fence to get his belongings, reportedly said he didn’t need to pay the fee because the property belonged to the Lakeside Highway District. Two large signs on the gate to the tow yard read: “No Trespassing, Violators Will Be Prosecuted.” Mayo and tow yard employee Bryce Atteberry confronted Spencer at his pickup when he emerged from the woods with his belongings. Mayo made the citizen’s arrest after he told deputies: “I’m tired of dealing with this guy.” Then, deputies took Spencer into custody.
Protestors march in front of Spokane, Wash. City Hall Thursday to raise awareness over their concerns for an independent police ombudsman. (Christopher Anderson/SR)
A stingray leaps out of the water as it is hunted by a killer whale, whose fin can be seen below the ray, just off St. Heliers beach in Auckland, New Zealand, Wednesday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/New Zealand Herald Photograph, Brett Phibbs)
Top Cutlines:
So this is how Willy plays Frisbee!!!!! Cool! — Dennis.
In this Aug. 29, 1993, file photo, pop singer Michael Jackson performs during his “Dangerous” concert in National Stadium, Singapore. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that a heart attack has claimed Jackson at age 50. Story here. (AP Photo/C.F. Tham, file)
Question: How will Michael Jackson be remembered?
Item: Former Statesman Reporter Barred From Army Unit For Not Reporting Good News: Barring an embedded reporter for NOT reporting so-called “good news” gets a poor response from military media specialists/Jill Kuraitis, New West.
More Info: “Officials said Stripes reporter Heath Druzin, who covered operations of the division’s 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team in February and March, would not be permitted to rejoin the unit for another reporting tour because, among other things, he wrote in a March 8 story that many Iraqi residents of Mosul would like the American soldiers to leave and hand over security tasks to Iraqi forces,” says the story.
Question: What do you think?
How cheerful is that little pigeon,
although his brain is but a smidgeon;
to fly, he needs not TSA —
he’s luckier than I today.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
South Carolina’s first lady Jenny Sanford stands in front of the family home as she talks to South Carolina public safety officers that are posted in the driveway Thursday on Sullivan’s Island, S.C. The family is staying at the beach front home after the Governor admitted to having an affair with a woman from Argentina. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)
Question: How quickly would your wife tell you to pack your bags, if you pulled what Gov. Mark Sanford did? Why do political wives usually pull a Tammy Wynette when their husbands are caught in affairs?
The Moscow City Council soon will take up discussion on the proposed ban on smoking in bars. We hope members will be deliberate in their discussions and not act in the same hasty manner in which the proposal appears to have been made. That is not to say we are opposed to such a ban. We believe nonsmokers have the right to be in a bar without having to breathe secondhand smoke. We feel, however, that it is a function of the state to enact such a ban as it did a few years ago in banning smoking in public places, including restaurants. The state, for whatever reason, left it up to the various municipalities to create their own statutes if they wanted stricter nonsmoking laws/Murf Racquet, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here.
Question: Would you prefer that the Idaho Legislature decide whether to institute a smoking ban in bars statewide? Or leave it up to individual communities, like Moscow?
Item: Minnick makes point about knives: Idaho congressman demonstrates spring-assisted knife to members of House panel in bid to derail Customs rule/Bill Spence, Lewiston Tribune
More Info: Rumors that Idaho Congressman Walt Minnick pulled a switchblade on the House Rules Committee may be slightly exaggerated. But he did pull a knife. Minnick, together with Rep. Robert Latta, R-Ohio, met with the rules committee late Tuesday, seeking approval to attach an amendment to an appropriations bill. The amendment would have blocked a U.S. Customs effort to change a 50-year-old definition and reclassify certain spring-assisted knives as illegal switchblades.
Question: What do you think of Congressman Walt Minnick pulling a knife to make a point before the House Rules Committee?
Spokane Police Officer Dave Grenon strides across a stream of leaking oil from a Loomis armored car after the driver ran a red light and struck a Toyota Land Cruiser at the corner of 25th and Grand Ave Wednesday in Spokane, Wash. A passenger in the armored vehicle received injuries, but none in the SUV. (Dan Pelle/SR)
Finding suitable swimwear is not only more difficult for women, it’s more expensive. My suit cost 
three times as much as my husband’s and contains less fabric. How is that equitable? Speaking of skimpy fabric, women also have to pay more for undergarments. A three-pack of Hanes will set my husband back less than $10. My favorite Victoria’s Secret undies – three for $30. Does this seem fair? And please do not write to me about the savings that can be achieved by buying underwear in bulk at discount stores. A woman’s got to have some kind of standards. And even if I did buy my panties by the ton, men’s briefs would still be cheaper/Cindy Hval, SR Voices. More here.
Question: What else do women pay more for? Is there anything men pay more for?
Rebecca Gottlieb holds up a shirt from her new school while wearing one from her old school at her family home on Bainbridge Island, Wash. Gottlieb’s family paid $50,000 last year so she could attend Tufts University 2,500 miles away in Medford, Mass. So the 19-year-old made the choice many college students are contemplating right now, she gave up her dream of earning a degree from a prestigious private university and is moving back home to finish her undergraduate education at Western Washington University, where tuition, housing, books and fees will total about $15,000 next year. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Question: My family pieced together scholarships, student loans, and parent loans to enable my two kids to attend private schools in the Portland, Ore., area. I’ve paid off the loans for my son’s education at Linfield College (annual cost about $22,500 at the time). I’m still paying on the one for my daughter to attend University of Portland (annual cost $33,000). I don’t know if we could pull it off on a single income today. Have your kids had to settle for a second choice re: college as a result of today’s tuition and related costs?
8:10 a.m. A major network problem with the SR’s telephone carrier XO Communications took down the phone line to our Coeur d’Alene office as well as many other business customers including the Nickels Worth. XO is working on the problem and has not given us an estimated repair time. Customers calling the SR’s Coeur d’Alene office at 208-765-7100 or any of the other direct-dial numbers have not been able to complete the calls. Update (11:58 a.m.): XO fixes line problems.
Now, with Rev Bryan Fischer’s recent exit, no one is in charge. Two decades is a long time to 
have been associated with such a movement. It’s also long enough to make an accurate analysis: the house that the Religious Right built is empty. Since I‘ve held a unique position from the start, maybe it’s my job to turn out the lights, at the end. In its place must be a clear-headed, well-articulated out-reach by interested parties who refuse to demonize their opponents – on both sides. We need to re-establish a loving culture of civility, realizing that the public opinion of this more-caring-culture will mold a fairer public policy for Idaho and the Nation. That’s how I will be helping the families of Idaho, beginning with my own/Dennis Mansfield. More here.
Question: What do you think of Dennis Mansfield’s comment re: the Religious Right: “We need to re-establish a loving culture of civility, realizing that the public opinion of this more-caring-culture will mold a fairer public policy for Idaho and the Nation.”
Cyclists must come to a complete stop at red traffic lights. If there is no traffic coming the other way, they can proceed while the light is still red. Cyclists don’t have to come to a complete stop at stop signs, as long as there is no other traffic coming the other way/Idaho Press Tribune. More rules of the road here.
Question: How well do you know the rules of the road for bicycles?
This April 21 file photo shows Savana Redding standing outside the Supreme Court in Washington, after the court heard the case of Redding who was strip searched when she was 13 years old by school officials looking for prescription-strength ibuprofen pills . The court ruled today that the school’s strip search was illegal. In an 8-1 ruling, the justices said school officials violated the law with their search of Redding in the rural eastern Arizona town of Safford. Story here. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, file)
Question: Can you think of any situation in which a strip search by school officials would be justified?
Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Jaclyn Smith, left to right, former stars of the television series “Charlie’s Angels,’ pay tribute to producer Aaron Spelling during the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in August 2006, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Fawcett died tody at a hospital in Los Angeles. She was 62. Story here.
Question: I learned last night that a former brother-in-law also has died of cancer at about the same age as Farrah Fawcett-Majors. What is the best things you can do to help a friend of loved one fight through cancer and cancer treatments?
Here are the numbers: Crapo, 59 percent favorable, 17 percent unfavorable; Risch, 49 percent favorable, 19 percent unfavorable; Minnick, 47 percent favorable, 20 percent unfavorable; Simpson, 56 percent favorable, 8 percent unfavorable. For Otter, the comparable figures were 47 percent favorable, 35 percent unfavorable/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: How can you explain the fact that Repub Otter’s unfavorable numbers are almost twice as much as freshman Demo congressman Minnick’s? Also: Otter is hinting at a run for re-election. How vulnerable will he be in a Repub primary?
A local man, who was taken off the Ironman course during the swimming competition, completed 
the course anyway and got a special gift in honor of his accomplishment. Casey Kammel was the only physically challenged participant in the competition. He is paralyzed on his right side, but decided to do the race anyway. Casey started out like every other athlete in the water on Sunday morning, but because of his disability and the rough conditions on Lake Coeur d’Alene, Casey was only able to finish half of the swim portion of the race, disqualifying him completely from Ironman. However, Casey pushed on, biking 112 miles and running 26 miles on his own. Casey did not get a medal, but on Monday, Hugo Ferlito heard about Casey’s story and stopped by his house to give Casey his Ironman finisher’s medal/KXLY. More here. Video here.
DFO: There were many inspirational stories from Ironman Coeur d’Alene this year. But I can’t think of any that top this one. Can you?
It’s been a tough week for the Spokane Police Department after one of their most respected 
officers was indicted by a grand jury for using excessive force against Otto Zehm three years ago. Rank and file officers are reeling from the indictment of one of their own by the federal grand jury and just like any football team that has a good offense but can’t seem to win a game the department has had their confidence shaken. “He’s the poster child of policing .if you want a picture of a professional officer it’s Karl,” Spokane Police Department Chaplain Ron Alter said. Karl Thompson is so respected by his fellow officers that when Chief Roger Bragdon resigned the rank and file circulated a petition asking that Thompson, a patrolman, be elevated to take his place/KXLY. More here.
Question: The Zehm case, of course, has stirred the public like few others. Does your view of this case change after reading the comments above re: Karl Thompson’s sterling police record?
The Am-brew-lance was handy in case viewers ran out of beer at the annual Spirit Lake Lawnmower Drag Races last weekend, according to Taryn Hecker. There was even an IV set up on board in case an oral booze fix wouldn’t cure what aled ya. You can see more photos of the drag races and teehee-shirts there at Taryn’s photography blog here.
I can’t believe this is happening. It’s like a dream come true. This stone is rolling and there’s no 
stopping it. Finally. The states lagging behind are going to look silly, on this one. Even cops agree: A recent issue of POLICE magazine says 45 percent of survey respondents supported medical marijuana. More than 20 percent supported full legalization. We’ve come a long way, baby, in just a few years. I think Washington’s law could be interpreted as allowing alcoholics access for medical purposes — as treatment for alcoholism, a chronic, wasting disease affecting appetite among other things. But depression has been ruled out, oddly.
Question: Should states like Washington that allow the use of medical marijuana also allow it to be prescribed for alcoholism and depression?
Do ideals rise and fall on the faithfulness (or faithlessness) of those who claim to value them, 
rather than their own intrinsic merit? If that is the case, who then can stand in the breach and urge us to higher and better things, whatever they may be? The question occurs to me whenever either political party makes ideological hay out of the failings of members of the opposition. What is worse? To hold up a standard and fail utterly to meet it, or to dispense with standards altogether? Full post below.
Question: Do we abandon lofty ideals b/c many fail in their attempt to live up to them?
Marmitetoasty: I saw a real bear whilst in Maine a few summers back, it walked out the woods 
right infront of the car we was in…… it was scary and wonderful all at the same time…….. and whilst in the garden of a little woodland cottage that me matie was doing up, I noticed the over grown garden grass had been flattened in place, upon asking me matie why the grass was flat he said…. oh, thats there the bears came through this morning…… jebus… it was said, all mater of fact LOL….. every time I then walked in the doodle woods I repeated in me head ‘no bears, snakes or spiders, no bears, snakes or spiders’ lol cos of course we dont have anything dangerous over here.
Question: Have you ever encountered anything dangerous in Jolly Old England or one of its colonies?
Michael Ramirez/Investor’s Business Daily
Today is the 175th day of 2009. There are 190 days left in the year. On this day in history: In 1509, 500 years ago, Henry VIII was crowned king of England. Rock musician Jeff Beck is 65. Today is UFO day (in honor of the first UFO sighting on this day in 1947 near Washington’s Cascade Mountains). In the news this afternoon, the US soccer team stunned top-ranked Spain today 2-0 to advance to the finals of the Confederations Cup here. And the Hump Day Wild Card is in play …
At the Kootenai County Farmers Market in downtown Coeur d’Alene, Ashley Fotsch, 16, left, and Maddy Barnes by some gourmet artisan bread from Paul Lash of Pasty Depot this afternoon. The event continues until 7 o’clock. (Colin Mulvany/SR)
Question: What do you usually buy when you go to your local farmers market?
More from Otis G Experience’s Guide To Stopped Freeway Traffic
Question: Can you add anything to Otis G’s list re: what you think about when caught in a traffic jam?
In a field of wild flowers near Hayden a honeybee gathers nectar from a daisy Wednesday. (Colin Mulvany/SR)
Belarusian neo-pagans jump over a bonfire celebrating the summer solstice near the town of Orsha, 200 km (125 miles) northeast of Minsk, Belarus, late Tuesday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Top Cutlines:
Jessica Lynn Waldvogel, has been located and is no longer of interest to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department. Waldvogel was found in good health traveling through Hardin Montana by the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Department/Lt. Lee Richardson, KCSD.
You can find out which restaurant offers the best fish & chips in the area, according to OrangeTV/Get Out! North Idaho here.
Question: Which place do you think is best in the region for fish & chips, in particular? Or seafood, in general?
A plan to pave the Montana side of the Gold Center Road is dead in the water. It wasn’t 
sensitive fish spawning beds along the route that killed the $12 million Little Joe project, which was funded almost a decade ago and had been on the books for at least that long: A bear shot in central Idaho prompted the US Fish and Wildlife Service to put a stop to the road work, Greg Gifford of the federal highway administration said. “About two years ago a young grizzly bear was killed in the Clearwater,” Mr. Gifford said. “The hypothesis is that it wandered from the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem into the Clearwater National Forest.” That led biologists to conclude that the St. Joe forest, which lies 100 miles south of the Yaak and just north of the Clearwater, is a travel corridor for grizzlies, which are a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act/Ralph Bartholdt, St. Maries Gazette-Record. More here.
Question: Am I the only one who believes the decision to stop this long-anticipated project as a result of a grizzly killed more than 100 miles away is ridiculous?
In this January 2007 file photo, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford takes the oath of office for a second term with his wife Jenny and sons, from the left; Marshall III; Landon; Bolton and Blake, during inaugural ceremonies at the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C. Now, Sanford has admitted admitted Wednesday to an affair, and resigned his position as chair of the Republican Governor’s Association following a strange week in which the governor dropped off the grid and could not be located. Story here. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain, File)
Question: I notice in the comments period that some of our left-of-center Hucksters are holding this news up as another example of Republican “family values” hypocrisy. And it is. Yet, I feel that both sides have many examples of moral and ethical failure. At this point, is there any politician left that would shock you if s/he fell from grace?
OrangeTV:
I’ve been to People’s Park exactly once, about 15 years ago. I had rented a tux for a wedding the night before and my friend Grace had a fun idea. She got completely dressed up in a formal gown and went all the way glam with her hair and makeup and I wore my rented tux and we went to the nude beach dressed that way for a nice spring picnic. The double takes and stares we got from the crowd of naked hippies sunning and playing volleyball next to us were priceless. Complete comment below.
Question: My wife once encountered a small group of naked beach lovers when she rounded a rock on the Big Sur (Calif.) shoreline. I was spared the vision because I’d settled onto the beach nearby to read a book. Have you ever had a surprise encounter similar to my wife’s?
Rob Berger pulled off the near impossible on Sunday, and that’s not a reference to the 14.5 
hours he spent on the Ironman course in adverse conditions. Rob, a 2001 Lake City HS grad, completed his MBA at Boston College in May after an undergrad education at Tufts University. He’s been dating Brittney Salvatore (PFHS 2006) for three years and made plans to propose in a memorable way. Rob completed Ironman Coeur d’Alene in 2007 so it was not surprising when he told Brittney he was training to do Ironman in Arizona or Canada later this year. Actually he was entered in the Coeur d’Alene event and planned to propose after he crossed the finish line/Kerri Thoreson, Main Street. More here.
Question: Did you or your sweetheart propose marriage in a memorable way?
Item: NIC subject of scolding: School violated academic freedom by letting part-timer go, AAUP says/Alison Boggs, SR
More Info: The case of a North Idaho College instructor who wasn’t reappointed after a student accused her of bashing Republicans prompted a national organization to censure the Coeur d’Alene college, saying it violated the principles of academic freedom. The 47,000-member American Association of University Professors says the case will test the organization’s policies regarding treatment of part-time and adjunct faculty, who constitute about 50 percent of college and university instructors nationwide.
Question: I’m all for academic freedom. However, after I’ve watched the SR newsroom halved in the last 8 years via layoffs and buyouts, I must admit I can’t get too excited re: a controversial part-time instructor not getting re-hired. And I off-base here?
Gonzaga has had two players drafted in the same year before, but there’s a chance as many as four could be selected Thursday. Pargo is on a few mock drafts as a mid to late second-rounder. Downs has an outside shot to be drafted, but most anticipate he’ll get an opportunity as a free agent/Jim Meehan, SR. More here.
Jamie McCarthy, right, of Somers pumps his fist as he walks through downtown Kalispell during a Gay Pride parade put on by the Montana Pride Network on Saturday in Kalispell, Mont. (AP Photo/Daily Inter Lake, Nate Chute)
For a few summers, it was like I moved every day. Now, I can’t stand the thought of my one 
move this year. While in college, my job during the warm months was as a laborer for a Mayflower moving franchise in Western Washington. We had a contract to do all the military moves in our Navy-centric town of Oak Harbor, so we always stayed busy and I quickly learned the ins and outs of a successful move. Poor planning is a big culprit in painful moves, and we saw the good, the bad and the things you wouldn’t believe. To this day I think the easiest move we went on was where the clients measured and laid out tape outlines on the floor of every piece of furniture and where it would go in their new house/Jon Meyer, 2C Etc. More here.
Question: When did you last move into a new place? Did the move go well?
… that the father of the man accused in that recent machete attack in Spokane was involved in the dispute over Sanders Beach — in a weird way 10 years after he died. Remember? Douglas W. Harmon’s father, E. Glenn Harmon, died in 1994 but resurfaced more than a decade later when a Kootenai County prosecutor claimed to have spoken with him in 2004. Bill Douglas said a court reporter misquoted him in a story you can read here. You can read all about the odd twists in this case on Meghann Cuniff’s Sirens & Gavels here. (Add “Twilight Zone” music here.)
If you’ve been concerned or impatient about the investigations of Boise’s three recent cycling fatalities, take a close read of today’s paper. Patrick Orr’s story and Police Chief Mike Masterson’s Reader’s View take a good step back from the heat of the moment. The fact is, it often takes months to investigate a fatal accident and to decide whether to press charges. This isn’t unusual. This is standard procedure. Law enforcement needs to take its time. Even when — especially when — public scrutiny is at its peak/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: In Boise, the public is in an uproar after recent crashes have claimed the life of three bicyclists. Do you feel safe while riding bikes on Inland Northwest streets and roadways.
Nick Jonas of The Jonas Brother, right, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington this morning before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Type 1 Diabetes Research. He is joined by, from left, actress Mary Tyler Moore; Dr. Griffin Rodgers, Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; and boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Question: How have you or your family been affected by diabetes?
Item: Men charged with lewd conduct in sting operation/KREM
More Info: More than a half dozen men are charged with lewd conduct in more than one Spokane park. Police say the men engaged in criminal sexual activity in broad daylight. An undercover police sting in People’s Park and High Bridge Park last Friday caught those suspects. Police say they have video and photo evidence of the men in the act.
Question: One man interviewed by KREM last night complained that a sting by Spokane police on lewd conduct in parks was a waste of manpower? Do you agree?
Item: Flexing their muscles or following protocol? Downtown bike cops draw concern from citizen; police tell different story/Tom Hasslinger, Press
More Info: Gianotti snapped the picture because he had firsthand experience dealing with what he felt were too many officers for one minor infraction. A couple of years ago, he was ticketed for having an open container in City Park — and seven officers were on hand to issue his citation. So when he saw the recent huddle of officers around one possible violator, he picked up his camera. Not as a way to condemn the police department, he said, only as a way to question it. What is proper police policy?
Question: Have you witnessed occasions when you believed too many law enforcement officers responded to a relatively minor violation?
Item: Pot establishing medicinal niche: Marijuana dispensaries’ legal status remain in limbo/John Stucke, SR
More Info: Now that marijuana can be legally used to ease patients’ pain, dispensaries are opening in Spokane to provide it. And regardless of whether such stores are what Washington voters and legislators envisioned when they allowed medical marijuana, it may only be a matter of time before the businesses are commonplace: Medical marijuana has been approved in more than a dozen states. The dispensaries’ legal status, however, remains hazy.
Question: Do you support the legalization of medical marijuana nationwide? And, in states like Washington where medical marijuana is legal, do you support the opening of dispensaries for it?
Jerry Harmon, the surface general supervisor for the Kensington Mine, receives a hug from Rep. Cathy Munoz, R-Juneau, during a lunchtime rally on the steps of the Capitol in Juneau, Alaska, on Monday, after the Supreme Court upheld the government’s decision to issue permits to use Lower Slate Lake to hold mine tailings. The Supreme Court upheld a federal permit to dump waste from the Idaho-based Coeur d’Alene Mine Co.’s gold mine into Lower Slate Lake in the Tongass National Forest, even though all its fish would be killed. Environmentalists feared the ruling could weaken protection of other lakes, streams and waterways from mining waste. (AP Photo/The Juneau Empire, Michael Penn)
Question: Do you support the decision by the Alaska Supreme Court to allow the Coeur d’Alene Mine Co. to dump pilings into a Tongass National Forest Lake?
Raymond Pert: I have examined all the photographs that have been posted of the BeerBQ fest. I do not believe Kerri’s presentation of s’mores swayed the judges. I have, however, concluded that Kerri was wearing intimidating camo and that her choice of fashion frightened the judges. I should add that Kerri looks great in camo and this added to the intimidation.
Question: When was the last time you were camo? (I woulda asked whether you’ve ever worn camo, but this is Idaho, so I figured that was a given.)
BillH: Customs overturning or revoking 50 years of regulatory letters defining what “is” a 
switchblade goes way beyond an American company’s CEO hoping for a boost in sales. And TT, do you really think a guy who has made his living in the business and built a well respected comapny has no more “authority” on the subject than joe blow blog commenter? Really? … By the way, Idaho is one of the few states in the nation that doesn’t outlaw switchblades… when was the last time we had a big switchblade massacre or crime wave? Maybe it isn’t about halting switchblade violence, but about expanding government control?
Question: Have you ever owned a real switchblade?
Zelda Krup: OK. It used to be kind of amusing to watch the KXLY anchors stumble through current events, mispronounce words and sight-read the news each night. Tonight, however, I’m not laughing wryly. Robin Nance reported that the U.S. this July 4th will be inviting Iranian diplomats to its embassy in Tehran for a BBQ celebration. The United States — for reasons that should be abundantly obvious to anyone paying attention — does not have an embassy in Tehran. Full post below.
Question: Which Spokane newscast makes the most mistakes?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
Today is the 174th day of 2009. There are 191 days left in the year. On this day in history: In 1989, the Supreme Court refused to shut down the “dial-a-porn” industry, ruling Congress had gone too far in passing a law banning all sexually oriented phone message services. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is 61. Today we’re celebrating Typewriter Day - in observance of the typewriter being patented in 1868 by Christopher Sholes. In the news today, a Gallup Poll shows 59 percent of Americans approve of the job the Supreme Court does here. And the latest Wild Card is in play …
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department is searching for a 38-year-old Hayden woman missing since Monday morning. Jessica Lynn Waldvogel is considered in danger because she is without her medication, officials said. Waldvogel was last seen when she left her home in the 9000 block of Maple Street in Hayden about 11:30 a.m. She was on foot, and was wearing a blue sweatshirt with a hood, blue jeans and a headband. Waldvogel is known to have friends in the Kellogg area. Anyone with information on Waldvogel’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department immediately at (208) 446-1300/Sara Leaming, SR.
In this photo from last week, Tim Maikshilo holds open the mouth of one of his Holsteins in Coventry, Vt. Yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm wants its cows to burp less. It’s for a noble cause: cutting down on the gases that contribute to global warming. Working with 15 Vermont farms to change cows’ diets so they emit less methane, it has already reduced cow burping by as much as 18 percent. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
Question: Can you burp well enough to win, show or place in a burping contest?
I used the old rhyme by Ogden Nash to draw attention to a problem I have at Casa Oliveria. I have ants surfacing at several different spots around my spacious garden. In the past, I’ve sprinkled ant poison around large nests, with little effect. The ants this year are getting so aggressive that they’ve swarmed my brother when he accidentally stood in the general area of their nest and they’ve helped themselves to the dog’s food whenever we put it outside. Help!
Question: How do you get rid of ants?
We got to talk to our son in Iraq today who called us on the occasion of his mom’s birthday. He 
talked about a few tips for making life in the desert more comfortable. If you want to feel cooler when it’s in the 120’s outside then visit one of the outhouses for awhile. It’s in the 130’s in there so when you come out, 120 something feels pretty good (for a little while anyway). Also try and get your shower time in the daylight. After dark the scorpions and camel spiders like the shower room as well. He never did like spiders and I guess camel spiders have about the same body and hair mass as a German Sheppard but aren’t near as user friendly. Full post below.
Question: Describe the most miserable place that you’ve lived?
Gov. Butch Otter answers questions after announcing that his transportation funding task force won’t bring forward recommendations until just before the 2011 legislative session, rather than for the upcoming 2010 session. At left is Senate Transportation Chairman John McGee, R-Caldwell. Betsy Russell’s Eye On Boise story here. (Betsy Russell/SR)
A deer, left, and a coyote freeze and stare at each other on the edge of the second fairway during the Mirror Pond Invitational Golf Tournament at Bend Golf & Country Club in Bend, Ore., Sunday. The two animals faced each other for more than a minute, with the coyote edging forward, until a woman ran at the coyote, scaring it away. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/The Bulletin, Andy Tullis )
Top Cutlines:
In this 2007 file photo, a sign outside the TJX Cos. headquarters is seen in Framingham, Mass. TJX Cos., the parent company of retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshall’s, will pay $9.75 million in a settlement with multiple states, including Idaho, related to a massive data theft that exposed tens of millions of payment card numbers. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
Question: How you ever had your credit card or Social Security numbers compromised — or been the victim of identity theft?
At the BeerBQ, it was rumored that Kerri Thoreson, ultimate winner of the contest (with her 
quite-delicious beer balls, I think they’re called - sausage type food with a touch of jalapeno in the middle), attempted to influence the judges by bringing them (us) s’mores in the midst of the judging. I can confirm the facts of the controversy - we three judges were indeed in the midst of finalizing our decisions when Kerri came into Taryn’s kitchen with her s’mores. I also can confirm that Kerri insisted it was not a bribe, and that she claimed to have absolutely no idea what we were doing there in the kitchen - that she was just being the Good Samaritan that we are supposed to know her to be… I also can confirm that the s’mores were really quite delicious, and brought me back to those days of yore, when my girl scout troop went camping/Beth Bollinger, Accidental Rabbit Trails. More here.
Question: OK, I sampled the beer balls — mebbe a half dozen of ‘em — and they were “quite-delicious,” as advertised above. However, I have to stay neutral and above the fray here. So I must ask: Do you think Kerri’s, ahem, Good Samaritan s’mores visit swung the voting?
Item: Buck concerned about knife rule: Although proposed federal regulatory change doesn’t affect Idaho company, firm’s CEO says he’s still nervous/William Spence, Lewiston Tribune
More Info: However, (C.J. Buck, president and CEO of Buck Knives said): ”the thing that has me nervous is that the language Customs used to cast the net wide enough to capture these assisted-opening knives could be used to capture just about every folding knife made in the country. But the broader issue is that this is a kind of bureaucratic activism. Customs is bypassing the legislative process and implementing regulations that aren’t what was originally intended.”
Question: Does C.J. Buck have a legitimate concern re: the potential for “bureaucratic activism” by U.S. Customs?
Sheriff’s deputies said it’s the first case of its kind they can remember in King County — one in which a pit bull was used as a weapon in brutal attacks on women. About 6:30 p.m., a 63-year-old woman stopped her car in SeaTac when she saw four kids kicking a pit bull. A 15-year-old girl told her to mind her own business, then punched her in the head, police say. The dog bit the woman, causing bruises and puncture wounds on her hand and thigh. Another woman watched the attack and followed the kids to North SeaTac Park. Once the kids realized they were being followed, police said, the 15-year-old head-butted, punched and kicked the second woman so hard that the teen’s foot was injured/Seattle P-I. More here.
The Bonner County Sheriff’s office confirms there has been some kind of accident at JD Lumber in Priest River, Idaho. A JD Lumber worker tells us another company recenlty bought their old saw mill and is on site dismantling it. That worker doesn’t have any details on what’s going on but says Sheriff’s deputies, firefighters and paramedics responded to the scene/KREM. More here.
Here’s my rebuttal or what I don’t like about summer … especially THIS YEAR. Coming to work 
without a coat and wishing you’d worn your snowsuit. Trying to keep the kids happy, busy and not bored. Weeds. Tube tops and shorts on those who should NEVER wear tube tops and shorts. Deadheading every flower in the garden on Monday and having to start over on Friday. Weeds. Dull lawn mower blades that shoot large hard green clumps of petrified grass through shed windows. Grilled hamburgers that fall apart and through the grate BEFORE they’re cooked and ready to eat. Weeds. Flies, spiders, earwigs and mosquitoes. … Loud, obnoxious neighbors who used to be that way … INSIDE. Weeds/Ida Chatter, 2C Etc. More here.
Question: Is there anything you don’t like about summer?
Sherman
Alexie’s award-winning book is once again the subject of a school censorship fight. This time, the book won. Alexie, a native of the Spokane Indian Reservation and world-renowned author, won the National Book Award for “The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” a semi-autobiographical story about a 14-year-old American Indian who leaves the reservation to attend an all-white high school. Parents at a Chicago suburban high school protested the book’s sexual content when it was included in a summer reading list for incoming freshmen, reports the Chicago Tribune. But after reading the book, the school superintendent and two school board members decided to keep it on the list and offer alternative reading to those who disagreed/Monica Guzman, The Big Blog. More here.
Question: Do you consider any book off limits for a high school freshman?
Soft white winter wheat is shown turning from the green color of growth, to the brown color of harvest in a field near Mann Lake on Monday in Lewiston. (AP Photo/Lewiston Tribune, Barry Kough)
At the downtown office this afternoon,
Editor Gary Graham (pictured) will lead a newsroom discussion about the acknowledgement by the New York Times this week that it concealed the news that one of its reporters had been held captive for seven months. Gary primed the discussion by sending out this e-mail a few minutes ago: “If one of our staff members is kidnapped by a radical group, should we withhold that information from the public? I’m referencing, of course, to the New York Times case of the reporter who had been held hostage by the Taliban. The Times, AP and other organizations withheld the news because their security advisers said it would exacerbate the problem.”
Question: Did the New York Times, AP, and other news organizations do the right thing by withholding the news?
However, over the last several months it has become clear that our nation’s political system too 
often forces the placement of party and ideological interests before the interests of individual states and citizens. And that means the only thing wholly represented in Washington, D.C., is the dysfunctional culture of Washington. D.C. We must change our political culture from partisan to effective, from angry to collaborative. Doing that requires more than a desire and willingness to change. It takes more than sending new people to Congress who, like me, are not afraid to cross party lines. It will in fact take a new devotion to independence, to personal freedom, to the core values defining us as a people. It will, in short, mean making Washington, D.C., a lot more like Idaho/Rep. Walt Minnick, D-Idaho. More here. Hat Tip: Treasured Valley
Question: Do you agree w/Walt Minnick that Washington, D.C., would be a lot healthier if it adopted Idaho’s values of “Hard work. Personal freedom. Paying for what you spend. Insisting upon limited, effective government. A right to privacy. The opportunity to succeed:?
Spokane Police officer Karl Thompson practices at the Spokane Police Department Regional Training Center shooting range, in this July 30, 2008, photo. Thompson who was charged, Monday with repeatedly striking Otto Zehm with a baton and tasering him during a confrontation in a convenience store, worked as a Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department captain under former Sheriff Pierce Clegg. This, according to sheriff’s sources. He resigned his job on May 12, 1995, and later ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat against Clegg in November 1996. You can read a 1996 candidate profile of Thompson here and the results of the 1996 sheriff’s race here. (AP Photo/The Spokesman-Review, Dan Pelle)
Item: Local plant moving operations to Mexico: 40 people will lose jobs on parent company’s decision/Alecia Warren, Press
More Info: “Obviously I’m saddened because we’ve got such a great group of folks in our plant that have dedicated many years to U.S. Products,” (General Manager Doug) Hauff said, adding that the company hasn’t pegged if any locals will be offered jobs in Mexico. “My personal goal — and one I will work very hard to establish — is getting new jobs for those who want help.”
New Question (offered by Randy Stapilus/Ridenbaugh Press): Will they still call them U.S. Products? And if so, will they try to do it with a straight face?
Item: Spokane County deputies cite 351 during emphasis patrols/Mike Prager, SR
More Info: Law enforcement in Spokane County wrote 351 citations this spring for people not wearing seat belts during their annual “click it or ticket” emphasis patrols. Results from the night time enforcement from May 21 through June 7 were released today by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. Along with the seat belt violations, officers made 10 arrests. They involved three for driving while intoxicated, six for outstanding misdemeanor warrants and one for an unspecified felony.
Question: Do you wish Idaho had a “click it or ticket” law that allowed officers to conduct emphasis patrols and pull motorists over for not buckling up?
Well, hallelujah! Turns out a brute with a badge can’t just get away with thumping and shocking 
the hell out of an innocent, mentally ill janitor in this town. I know. Suspects are innocent until proven guilty. Let Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. have his day in court for his violent encounter with Otto Zehm. For the moment, however, I’m savoring the sweet sounds of U.S. Attorney James McDevitt (pictured Monday) handing down two indictments against Thompson. Count One: Thompson “struck and repeatedly struck Otto Zehm with a baton and tasered him …” Count Two: Thompson knowingly lied to investigators. Monday’s trip to the federal building made me proud I’m still a journalist. Thompson faces up to 30 years in the joint, although we all know that sort of sentence will never happen/Doug Clark, SR. More here.
Question: How do you think this case will play out?
Solo the trumpeter swan swims with his brood at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. It is the first brood he has had in the last 20 years and refuge staff estimate he has been coming to Turnbull for almost 40 years. Story here. (Christopher Anderson/SR)
Question: How old were you when your last child was born?
In this May 22, 1992, file photo, Ed McMahon, left, shakes hands with talk show host Johnny Carson, during the final taping of the “Tonight Show” in Burbank, Calif. McMahon has died at a Los Angeles hospital, according to his publicist. He was 86. Story here. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac, File)
MamaJD: After all the pictures and talk of blogger food, I’ve come up with an idea: Oliveria’s Own. Just like Paul Newman’s Own. Photoshoppers — make a label with DFO’s pic. Bent’s Brew, Stickman’s Gold, Bayview Herb’s Potato Salad, KerriT’s Beer Balls, blah, blah, blah. Or better yet, instead of infringing on copyrights, can we just maybe do a HBO cookbook? I would actually pay money for Bent’s recipe on the bacon-wrapped stuffed peppers that I saw.
Question: Any of you Merry Hucksters want to do a cookbook? What recipe could you offer?
Charlie: You have to quit smoking to become a true advocate. I quit cold turkey 12 years ago and anyone I happen upon who smokes I tell them they to can quit, but the desire will always remain. It’s no fun but you can do it. The plus of quitting is that you don’t smell like an ashtray.
Question: Have you been able to quit smoking?
ALoafOfBread: This Thursday (6/25) at 5pm at Spokane City Hall, folks from many community 
groups will be rallying against police abuse and for police accountability. The focus will be calling on the city to push for full investigative authority for the Ombudsman when the city re-negotiates its contract with the police guild this summer. We welcome everyone to come join us in this nonviolent expression of the outrage, distrust, embarrassment, and concern that so many in our community feel about the ongoing SERIES of incidents and the city’s continually unsatisfying responses.
Question: What would happen in Coeur d’Alene or Post Falls, if the local police were involved in the sort of shenanigans that seem to be an ongoing thing in Spokane?
Michael Ramirez/Investor’s Business Daily
Today is the 173rd day of 2009. There are 192 days left in the year. On this day in history: In 1945, the World War II battle for Okinawa ended with an Allied victory; some 13,000 Americans and 90,000 Japanese soldiers, plus 130,000 civilians, were killed in the nearly three-month campaign. In 1969, singer-actress Judy Garland died in London at age 47. Singer-actor Kris Kristofferson is 73. In the news today, the Dow experienced its worst day in two months today here. And today’s Wild Card remains in play …
District of Columbia Fire and Emergency workers at the site of a rush-hour collision between two Metro transit trains in northeast Washington, D.C., today. Story here. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Item: Obama signs tough anti-smoking bill, but quitting the habit himself is tougher/Political Intelligence
More Info: Obama then added his own well-publicized fight with tobacco for emphasis. “Almost 90 percent of all smokers began at or before their 18th birthday,” he said. “I know — I was one of these teenagers, and so I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it’s been with you for a long time.” Before running for president, Obama famously made a deal with his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama: she would fully support his run for the White House if he quit smoking. During the campaign, Obama used nicotine gum to break the habit, but since his election he has declined to say he has quit smoking for good.
Question: Does President Obama’s struggle to break the nicotine habit make him a good advocate for an anti-smoking crackdown? Or a poor one?
“A baby robin crash landed from a nest in one of our poplar trees and took refuge in the flower bed,” posts Councilwoman KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho. A few hours later, with a little human intervention and strategic placement in a lower branch of the tree, he happily hopped and flew back up to safety.
Devon O’Neil leaps into the air as he leads his team across the finish line for a repeat championship in the 3rd annual Outhouse Races on Ridge Street in Breckenridge, Colo., Sunday. Joining O’Neil for the championship run was Jeff Tarczan, right, Tina Lamers, sitting, and Tim Bennett, pushing from behind. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Summit Daily News, Mark Fox)
Two drivers sustained non-life-threatening injuries @ 12:55 p.m. today when a mechanical problem caused a 1999 Mazda driven by Amanda Giannone, 20, of Newport, Wash., to side-swipe a Freightliner truck with a dump trailer. Giannone drove off the south shoulder of US 2 @ M/P 17.5 (east of Priest River), overcorrected, and hit a truck driven by Michael Lowe, 46, of Priest River. Giannone’s car was split in half. She was wearing a seatbelt. The semi slid off the north shoulder and the driver was ejected out of the passenger side window, he was not wearing a seatbelt. Full report below.
At Taryn Hecker’s Photography blog, Taryn provides several photos of interesting TeeHee-shirt messages that she saw at the Spirit Lake event of the year — the Big Back-In Lawnmower Drag Races on Spirit Lake’s Maine Street. Posts Taryn: “The event brings out some of the most colorful characters in all of North Idaho, too. One of my friends said the event was a little ‘rednecky’ for her taste. Being an Idaho girl, I just can’t get enough of the local flavor.” You can find a sampling of the T’s folks were sporting at Sunday’s event here.
Question: What TeeHee-Shirt message would you wear to Spirit Lake’s lawnmower races?
Item: SPD officer indicted in Otto Zehm death/Thomas Clouse, SR
More Info: A federal grand jury has indicted the first officer who responded to a confrontation with mentally ill janitor Otto Zehm, which resulted in Zehm’s death and sparked a cry for citizen police oversight. U.S. Attorney James McDevitt announced that the grand jury has indicted veteran Spokane Police Officer Karl Thompson, who was the first of seven officers to confront Zehm, a 36-year-old janitor who had schizophrenia. Zehm died two days after he was beaten with a baton, shocked multiple times with a Taser and hogtied inside the Zip Trip at 1712 N. Division St.
Question: In the comments section, HMOffsuite posts and link to this story and comments: “It looks like Otto Zehm may receive the justice that he deserves.” Do you agree with that assessment?
A permit was issued to the “Cal-Tex Riders,” an organization of retired law enforcement officers for an organized ride through Coeur d’Alene this Thursday. The 100+ motorcycles will be led and followed by police escorts. Streets will not be barricaded closed for the event. The ride will start at 11 am beginning at the Coeur d’Alene Inn going east to Highway 95, then south on Highway 95 onto Northwest Boulevard southbound to Sherman, and athen long Sherman Avenue from 1st to 23rd. The event will be over by 11:45 a.m./Coeur d’Alene Today.
Question: Do you like all the events that occurred in downtown Coeur d’Alene? Or do you think city officials should limit the number of them?
“At the Grand Opening BeerBBQ for my new studio (co-hosted by my good buddy, Bent), Kerri Thoreson asked me if I had a wind machine in the studio. No. But then I remembered: I have a leaf blower,” posts Taryn Hecker on her new Taryn A. Hecker Photography blog. Guess what? A leaf blower makes for some wonderful high-fashion shoots. More here.
Question: Obviously, Taryn’s use of a leaf blower to mimic the wind for a photo shoot proves she’s a resourceful gal with deep roots in North Idaho. Can you think of a time when you’ve used North Idaho ingenuity to solve a problem?
New Hampshire postal worker George Knapp shows off an 8-week-old kitten that he adopted Monday at the MSPCA in Boston. The two-pound kitten, who Knapp is naming PD for Postage Due, was abandoned in a public mailbox in Boston earlier this month. (AP Photo/Eric J. Shelton)
Question: Have you ever adopted a pet from an animal shelter. Did it turn out OK?
Beth Bollinger/Accidental Rabbit Trails: But it was the summer of 1996, when I was an extra in the “Dante’s Peak” movie (filmed in Wallace) that made me stay in the PNW. What a beautiful summer it was. Afternoon thunderstorms rolling in. Nothing like the 90s and 100s we’ve had in subsequent years, at least as I remember it.
Question (for non-natives): What brought you to the Inland Northwest?
“What is so rare as a day in June?” the poet asked. (Just a second, let me Google it to find 
which one.) Ah, James Russell Lowell (1819-1891), according to a Web site about birds. (Why birds? Maybe June is their favorite month, too.) The next line of the poem? “Then, if ever, come perfect days.” Days in June in my native state, Texas, were not so much rare or perfect as pretty much insufferable. Hotter than heck day in and day out. Mid 90s more often than not, unless a storm blew through and dropped the temperature but cranked the relative humidity up to about 85 percent. June here in Southwest Idaho, well that’s a completely different matter. Especially this June/Mike Butts, 2C Etc., Idaho Press Tribune. More here.
Question: First, we need to address the elephant in the living room. Summer hasn’t arrived in North Idaho, yet. At best, our June feels like early spring. Now, onward. What were summers like in the town in which you grew up?
Lawrence McDonald, center, of Pullman, Wash., dances during the grand entry at the 32nd annual Chief Joseph and Warriors Memorial powwow in Saturday in Lapwai. (AP Photo/Lewiston Tribune, Kyle Mills)
The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a federal permit to dump waste from an Alaskan gold mine into a nearby lake, even though all its fish would be killed. Environmentalists feared the ruling could weaken protection of other lakes, streams and waterways from mining waste. By a 6-3 vote, the justices said a federal appeals court wrongly blocked on environmental grounds the Army Corps of Engineer’s waste disposal permit for the Kensington gold mine 45 miles north of Juneau. The mine, which had been closed since 1928 and owned by Idaho-based Coeur d’Alene Mines Co., has been awaiting a resumption of operation, pending approval of the waste disposal/Associated Press. More here.
Question: Is anyone else stunned by this ruling?
Models prepare during the Sao Paulo Fashion Week in Sao Paulo, Saturday. (AP Photo/Nelson Antoine) Question: Obviously, models are faster changers than the rest of us. It takes me about an hour to shower, groom, dress, grab a bite and get to work in the morning. How long does it take you to get ready?
Idaho is saving tens of millions because construction bids on its big federal stimulus-funded highway projects - including the Dover Bridge in North Idaho and the Vista Interchange in Boise - are coming in so far under budget. The result: Instead of just the eight big projects around the state that are planned, Idaho should be able to add to its list, and a North Idaho bottleneck on U.S. Highway 95 could benefit. “They are very competitive bids, extremely competitive,” said Jeff Stratten, spokesman for the Idaho Transportation Department. “Contractors are eager and hungry to go to work, and their bids are reflecting it.” Said ITD board member Jim Coleman, “We’re getting five or six bids in places that we would get one or two before”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
In a recent post, Dennis Mansfield suggests that Mother’s/Father’s Day is some sort of grand 
conspiracy by the Hallmark card company to sell product and make kids and the nonparticipatory spouse feel guilty. And he loves Christmas and birthdays. I, on the other hand, view gift-giving days with fear, especially since the kids have left the nest and are no longer around to provide ideas for gifts to give my wife. I view gift-giving days (Christmas, Valentine’s Day, birthdays, Mother’s Day) with fear and loathing. I don’t mind spending the money. I simply don’t like buying the wrong thing. I did once. Big time. In Lewiston. And I still hear about it occasionally. Yeah, it was that bad — and no I’m not going to tell you what it was. For a brief period, I conned Mrs. O into providing a list of gifts she’d like for Christmas. I was delighted. But she put an end to that by saying she preferred that I pick out something. More below.
Their bodies of bronze flood the street,
with abs made of steel they’re replete,
they swim, run and pedal,
each testing their mettle,
the Ironmen come again to compete!
Mike/29 Words Or Less
At Taryn & Bent’s BeerBQ Cookoff Saturday, ThomG, head of the local D’s, chats with local Repub official Duane Rasmussen at Taryn’s place in Spirit Lake. Which proves that free food, good homemade beer and Huckleberries Online can bring together individuals with a wide variety of socio-political views on life.
The Obama Administration told a bunch of whoppers: it was going to support gay rights; it was 
going to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell; it was going to close Gitmo right away; it was going to pull our troops out of Iraq almost immediately; it was going to have no lobbyists working in the government; it was going to be transparent; it was going to have every bill visible in final form for five days before Obama signed it. And unfortunately, the mainstream media bought all this garbage, asking no questions, never challenging candidate Obama about how all this was going to happen. And they are now just barely starting to challenge President Obama when they discover that he either lied to them, or didn’t have a clue what he was getting himself into as President/Clayton Cramer. More here.
Question: Do you believe the Obama administration is transparent enough?
Pediatrician Lauren Kearney, 43, of Carlsbad, Ca, flashes the victory sign as she completes her first swim lap at the Coeur d’Alene Ironman. (Dan Pelle/SR)
Question: How did you spend Ironman Coeur d’Alene Sunday?
Item: Adults cited for buying booze for kids in Boise/Statesman
More Info: About 20 percent of adults approached by minors outside grocery and convenience stores between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Thursday bought alcohol for the underage strangers, according to Boise police officer Jermaine Galloway. The two minors who were soliciting adults to buy alcohol for them were girls younger than 18 who clearly looked younger than 21 years old, Galloway said. Providing alcohol to minors is a misdemeanor. The penalty is from $500 to $1,000, plus up to one year in jail
New Question: As minor, did you ever ask an adult to buy booze for you?
Item: Drug thefts at jail led to policy changes: Eleven employees disciplined or fired for taking inmates’ medications/Meghann M. Cuniff, SR
More Info: The ISP investigation found that inmate prescriptions were left on carts in a room with little security or supervision. Pills left over after inmates were discharged, or that were refused, were tossed in a bin marked for disposal; it was from this bin that most of the thefts occurred. This lack of security and poor record-keeping enabled the thefts, records show, and it contributed to a Bonner County prosecutor’s decision not to file criminal charges. In explaining his decision, Prosecutor Louis Marshall cited a lack of evidence such as recovered stolen pills or records proving the thefts, documents show.
Question: Sheriff Rocky Watson refused to explain why different punishments were handed out to the almost dozen jailers involved in this scandal. He has also said that the jail has addressed the haphazard method in handling prescription drugs. Do you think the public has a right to demand candor on this matter from the sheriff?
Museum of North Idaho board of trustees member/ volunteer Kathy Arneson near the steamboat display at the museum in Coeur d’Alene last week. The museum staff is beginning an awareness campaign in preparation for fund raising to build a modern new museum. Story by Carl Gidlund here. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
In the Man on the Street section of the Handle Extra Sunday, five people @ Java on Sherman were asked: “What’s the best advice your dad ever gave you?” The SR questioners, of course, had Father’s Day in mind. Mrs. O and I both appreciate the answer given by Sarah McHugh of Dalton: “It would be something along the llines of ‘If he doesn’t care for you as much as I do, then he’s not worth it.”
Question: What do you think of the advice that Sarah’s father gave her? Or: What’s the best advice that your father ever gave you?
Before breaking for summer vacation, Sheryl Rasmussen, advanced learning teacher at Dalton Elementary, asked her students to localize the Seven Wonders of the World. They proposed a list of Wonders of Coeur d’Alene. And the Dalton Elementary student body voted on them. Figpickels Toy Emporium on Sherman Avenue was selected as the No. 1 Wonder of Coeur d’Alene. Here’s the top seven wonders:
Question: What would you pick as the top wonders of Coeur d’Alene/North Idaho?
I chose Chile Relleno, Beef Tamale and Shredded Beef Taco; the best three amigos since 
Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short. It’s easy to fill up on tortilla chips if the food takes to long to arrive, especially when they’re as fresh and addictive as the ones served at Jalapenos. Thankfully, we avoided this dilemma with the swift appearance of our meals, which arrived just in time to order another margarita. Our server courteously explained the scorching drama of our oven-hot plates, but it was obvious anyway. I could literally hear a bubbling sound from the layers of yellow and white cheese that coated everything on my plate/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. More here.
Question: What is your favorite Mexican dish?
Michael Ramirez/Investor’s Business Daily
First place finisher Francisco Potano approaches the finish line of the Ironman Coeur d’Alene Sunday afternoon in downtown Coeur d’Alene. Potano finished with the time 8:32:12. Original story and more photos here. (Bruce Twitchell/Special to The Spokesman-Review)
At 12:45 p.m., deputies from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department Recreation Safety Section 
and personnel from the Northern Lakes Fire Department responded to the Hayden Lake Marina on Hayden Lake for an injury Personal Watercraft accident. When units arrived on scene, they learned that James H. Graham an 18 year old male from Spokane WA and his brother, John M. Graham an 19 year old male also from Spokane WA, had been operating Personal Watercrafts in the area of Windy Bay on Hayden Lake. According to witnesses, James Graham made a sharp turn and John Graham ended up striking James while he was sitting on his watercraft. James was transported to the Hayden Lake Marina by a private vessel where he was treated for his injuries by medical personnel. James was then transported to KMC where he was pronounced deceased due to his injuries. The investigation is ongoing and it appears alcohol was not a factor in the accident/Deputy Ryan Higgins, KCSD news release.
Some of the other Merry Hucksters will be by a little later to provide their impressions of the first Taryn & Bent BeerBQ Cookoff. But I’ll dub it a roaring success. (You can read Herb’s report here.) Dunno who won the cookoff between Bent, Redman and others because I left a little early. But I do know that the fare they laid before us was well worth the drive to Spirit Lake. I stuffed myself with Councilwoman KerriT’s beer balls and finally tasted Herb’s regionally famous potato salad. (BTW, that’s Meghann Cuniff w/Herb’s banjo above.) I already knew Bent’s personal brew was good from Blogfest ‘09. I made doubly sure by testing one with a berry tinge and another with an apple one. Mrs. Bent was handing out the brewskis. Some Merry Hucksters and a blurker of two showed up for the first time at one of our fests. Taryn was the perfect hostess. All in all, a great time — and the weather cooperated. You can use this Wild Card to discuss the BeerBQ (for those who attended) or to start your own threads …
Capt. Nick Carlton tosses 2-year-old Ryan into the air directly following his Stryker Brigade’s Deployment Ceremony at Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Wash., Friday. About 3,900 soldiers from 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division will begin leaving this month for a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Janet Jensen)
Question: The Marine son of one of my best friends will be headed for his third tour of duty in the Middle East in a few months, leaving behind a wife and a new son. This time he’s going to Afghanistan instead of Iran. Do you think Barack Obama is doing all he can to bring the troops home, as he promised during the campaign?
Item: Veteran CBS newsman Walter Cronkite reportedly ill/AP
More Info: CBS isn’t commenting on reports that veteran newsman Walter Cronkite is gravely ill. The 92-year-old former anchor of “The CBS Evening News,” who has been ailing for some time, has reportedly taken a turn for the worse, according to TVNewser and other online sites. CBS News spokesman Kevin Tedesco had no comment on Friday. The face of CBS News for more than two decades, Cronkite was named “the most trusted man in America” in a 1972 “trust index” survey, and he ended each broadcast with the reassuring signoff, “And that’s the way it is.”
Question: Who is your favorite all-time national newscaster?
Kelsey Larsen had barely shed her cap and gown after graduating from
Colville High School two weeks ago before exchanging them for green
Nomex pants, a yellow fireproof shirt, and a hard hat. Larsen, 18, will get used to her new garb over the next three months
as a wildland firefighter. She is one of 50 new firefighters hired by
state and federal agencies to battle blazes in forests and public lands
this summer in Washington. She and the other rookies spent this week
training at the Chewelah Peak Learning Center in the Colville
National Forest. Most of the new firefighters are college students interested in fire
science or forestry. It’s rigorous, treacherous work, and pay for a
seasonal firefighter is decent: $6,000 to $10,000 for three months
of work/Sara Leaming, SR. More here.
Question: What was your toughest summer job?
Taryn Hecker: I’m getting ready to make my awesome Red Kidney Bean/Water Chestnut Salad in 
Garlic Aioli and my Orzo Mediterranean Salad. And then the fun stuff … like cleaning the bathrooms and finishing
the weedwhacking. I spent two hours last night wondering why the line
in my weedwhacker kept falling out and realized I had the completely
wrong head in the weedwhacker. I made it half way around the yard before it got dark. If I don’t
get it done, I’m just gonna try to pass the tall grass around the
perimeter off as country gardening.
Question: Is anyone going to complain @ Taryn & Bent’s BeerBQ if Taryn hasn’t whacked all the weeds in her yard by 3 o’clock today?
Nick Adams: PETA did change the way I view the testing of cosmetic products on
animals. I went a couple of years trying to completely avoid their list
of animal tested products. I drew the line at toothpaste, though. Tom’s
of Maine is possibly the worst tasting product ever produced. I just
couldn’t start and end every day with that awful crap.
Question: Did you ever give up something you liked or used, as a matter of principle or protest?
JReighley: Leaf is no different than anyone else. Watch “True Hollywood Story”
sometime. It always follows the exact same plot line as Leaf. Some fall
faster than others. The troubling thing is that people are so quick to judge him,
categorize him, and celebrate his fall. In doing so, in many cases they
are exhibiting the same pride and arrogance that lead to his demise.
Most of us would be jerks if we became rich and famous too. We would
find that the top of the world sucks just as bad as the bottom
Question: Would you be a jerk if you were rich & famous?
In this Aug. 12, 2008, file photo, then Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. walks down Kailua Beach in Kailua, Hawaii, with his daughters Malia, 10, left, and Sasha, 7, during their vacation in Hawaii. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)
Item: Obama to fathers: Be involved in your kids’ lives/AP
More Info: Growing up without a father left a painful hole in his heart, President Barack Obama told boys at the White House Friday in a remarkably personal Father’s Day weekend message. He implored fathers everywhere — and the kids when they’re a bit older — to be involved in the lives of their own children.
Question: Was your father involved in your life?
Today is the 170th day of 2009. There are 195 days left in the year. On this day in history: In 1910, Father’s Day was celebrated for the first time, in Spokane, Wash. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved by the Senate, 73-27. Actress Kathleen Turner is 55. Locally, Coeur d’Alene is observing Juneteenth for the first time here. In the news this evening: Barack Obama’s approval rating has slipped to 58% here. And the Wild Card is in play …
American actress Brittany Daniel gets a tattoo by famous Thai tattoo artist Ajarn Nu in Nonthaburi province, Thailand, today. (AP Photo)
Question (for those of you with tattoos): Is the tattoo process as painful as it looks?
Bent provides the following info and directions (see link) re: Bent & Taryn’s BeerBQ, which is 
scheduled from 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday @ Taryn’s home in Spirit Lake to officially launch her photography studio): “We have five BBQers fired up with fantastic FREE food. We will have free homebrew for those of legal age, and free soft drinks for everyone else. Plus Taryn is offering amazing discounts on portraits, so bring the family. Additional Info: We have plenty of food and supplies, but you may want to bring a lawn chair or two. The forecast looks pretty good, but we are prepared to deal with light showers if they occur and the fire pit will be blazing. So, don’t let the weather deter you.” More info and directions here.
Question: Why are/aren’t you coming to Bent & Taryn’s BeerBQ tomorrow?
A woman suspected of stealing a car was killed when she wrecked the vehicle before dawn today in north Spokane. A man involved in the robbery is still missing, said the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating the fiery crash. Story here. (Mike Prager/SR)
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) activists sit with red painting on their body to protest against bullfighting at the Trocadero near the Eiffel tower, in Paris, Thursday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Top Cutlines:
They got Adam all set up with an IV, which he was very curious about, and prepared him to go up to the operating room. Dad said a prayer with us and I was glad again that he was there. The surgeon came into the room and explained everything to us. (When the surgeon explained how they were going to remove his appendix, Adam looked at me and whispered, “But I like my appendix.” Typical Adam)/A Butterfly Moment. More here.
HBO Numbers (for Thursday, June 18): 7222/4223
Question: Have you had your appendix removed?
Great clouds of pollen fill the breeze
and innocents now cough and sneeze;
from tiny babe to world war vet,
the throat is raw, the eye is wet.
Enough, I say, it’s gone too far —
this nation needs a Pollen Czar.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
This Aug. 9, 2007, file photo, shows John Joseph Houghtaling, inventor of the ” Magic Fingers Vibrating Bed” aboard his 51-foot yacht in Fort Pierce,Fla. Houghtaling died in Ft. Pierce, Fla. Wednesday. He was 92. Story here. ( AP Photo/Paul J. Milette, The Palm Beach Post)
Question: What kind of bed do you own?
Deaf In Downtown: It seems ludicrous that the City shut down what is essentially two blocks of 
Sherman Avenue three full days before the first Ironman finisher will cross the finish line. The work to do this took only a few hours. Why can’t this be done Saturday evening if it is so easy to do? And, why is it that, whoever decided to route all of Sherman’s traffic to Lakeside, has no responsibility to change the light sequencing or provide traffic cops/volunteers to offset the gridlock that resulted from the closure? This town puts on so many great events but the imposition on the local businesses and citizens in this case are beyond comprehension.
Question: Do you agree/disagree with Deaf In Downtown that the city shuts Sherman Avenue down too long for Ironman Coeur d’Alene?
Chosen second, behind Manning, in the 1998 NFL draft, the world belonged to
Leaf every bit as 
much as it did Manning. But Manning succeeded and Leaf failed.
Manning still is having one of the most prolific careers in NFL history. He’s
still at the top of the game. Leaf arguably is the most colossal bust in his sport’s history. And now he’s
at the bottom of his world. Some people will think this is a result of Leaf’s bad karma. At Washington
State and in the NFL, he treated most people the same way — poorly. He was a
jerk to many of his fellow WSU students. He had disdain for the sports writers
who covered him, and he wasn’t a particularly good teammate in the NFL/Steve Kelley, Seattle Times. More here. A Seattle P-I column by Art Thiel re: Leaf here. About video below here.
Question: Do you lament the fall of former WSU star QB Ryan Leaf?
Give (Melissa Sue) Robinson credit for adding some lift to a slow news week. A “male-to-female post-op transgendered person,” Robinson says she will run for mayor of Nampa, one of Idaho’s more conservative communities. “I am running because I am progressive and I feel that Nampa is a city that needs progressive people in city government,” says Robinson, who lists among her accomplishments founding the National Association for the Advancement of Transgendered Persons at Lansing, Mich., and Equality Idaho. But the problem - as political historian Randy Stapilus noted - is Robinson’s message. Other than spreading tolerance for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people, she doesn’t have much to say about what kind of changes Nampa needs. Nor has she had much relevant experience either in Idaho or in city politics/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: What do you think of the mayoral candidacy in Nampa of “male-to-female post-op transgendered” Melissa Sue Robinson?
Item: City asks to dismiss Zehm case: Zehm’s actions cause of death, court papers claim/Jim Camden, SR
More Info:
The City of Spokane asked a federal court Friday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the family of Otto Zehm over his death in police custody in March 2006, saying the developmentally disabled janitor, not police, is responsible for his own death. In a response to the federal civil rights suit filed by his mother, Ann Zehm, assistant city attorney Rocco Treppeidi and Carl Oreskovich, a private attorney under contract to the city who also represents one of the officers involved in the case, argue that police acted properly in the north Spokane Zip Trip on the night of March 18, 2006.
Related: Otto Zehm died for our sins/Community Comment
Question: Do you believe, as the city of Spokane maintains, that city police acted responsibly and that developmentally disabled janitor Otto Zehm was responsible for his own death?
This June 11 photo shows two kit foxes lounging on the steps of the old Pahaska lodge in North Fork, Wyo. (AP Photo/The Powell Tribune, John Wet)
In the waking world, Eileen and I separated in 1981, divorced in ‘82, and our marriage was annulled by the Roman Catholic Church in 1984, making it possible for Eileen, a new convert to Catholicism, and her Roman Catholic fiancee to marry one another. This all happened twenty-five years ago. These events tore me up. I’ve never fully recovered, never fully healed, never really forgiven myself for being the man I am, a man Eileen could no longer endure as a husband, a man she never wanted to speak to or hear from again. It’s all here in this dream/Raymond Pert, Kellogg Bloggin’. More here.
Question: Are you still carrying around the scars of a previous marriage?
The president has been getting lots of kudos for a lightning-fast, Mr.
Miyagi-worthy swipe he employed to slay a pesky house fly that was buzzing him
in mid-interview during a taping with CNBC that aired Wednesday. But now People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, calling it an
“execution,” wants the commander-in-chief to show a little more compassion to
even “the least sympathetic animals”/Reuters. More here.
As I biked home Wednesday, I saw a familiar face with his wife of 59 years, walking slowly along 
torn-up 4th Street @ Garden, in front of the old SR bureau: Bob Hough. For years, Bob was the voice of KVNI (before “newcomer” Dick Haugen replaced him in the early 1990s). Before that, he was a DJ in the 1950s-60s, known as “Bubblehead Bob.” Now, he’s a proud grandfather, enjoying the success of two grandkids who have made their mark transforming stars into dancers in the “Dancing with the Stars” competition: Derek and Julianne Hough. Bob believed as many other viewers did that grandson Derek and Lil’ Kim should have finished ahead of “that cowboy” — rodeo cowboy Ty Murray — in the most recent season. “It’s all rigged,” Bob said when I stopped to chat. The Houghs were walking toward the 4th Street house a block away that was built by Mrs. Hough’s father. More below.
Item: Garwood-to-Sagle freeway comes with a bottleneck: Two-lane portion at end would stretch two miles/Betsy Russell, SR
More Info: The Idaho Transportation Board on Thursday reviewed an Idaho attorney general’s opinion that found that the board can’t adjust the project’s southern boundary without specific authorization from the Legislature. State Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, proposed such legislation this year, but it died in an end-of-session tiff between the House and the Senate. “This is something we really messed up on and the Legislature messed up on,” said ITD board member Bruce Sweeney, “and we need to resurrect this. … It’s just stupidity, is what it is.”
Question: Who’s to blame for a ‘stupidity’ that leaves a two-mile stretch of Highway 95 as a two-lane road: the Legislature only, District 3 reps only, or both?
Sunday, the first day of summer, is getting increasingly crowded with events: Father’s Day, Ironman Coeur d’Alene, and Naked Hiking Day. Above, Andrew Williams poses without his shirt behind his backpack at a park near his home in Warren, Pa., Thursday. Williams plans to participate in Naked Hiking Day, on Sunday, an annual event celebrated on the first day of summer by a relatively few enthusiasts. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Question: Would your day in the woods be ruined if you met someone like Andrew Williams hiking naked through them?
I’m rethinking this morning how I treat all living beings, and I’m gonna have to repent for some 
very recent infractions of the rules. Why just yesterday I took one of those cans (2 for $7) of deadly wasp/hornet spray and assaulted all the little nests that have started forming in the horse trailer. My intention was to spare Miss Lily from having to get stung several dozen times during the trailer ride over to my sisters’ place. Little did I consider that I was a murderer and that should this act become as public as the President’s recent fly smacking incident, I might have had naked people show up and start lying in my driveway to prevent me from taking my horse for a ride/Marianne Love, Slight Detour. More here.
Question: Marianne, of course, is being facetious re: her thoughts re: PETA. How about you? Have PETA’s off-the-wall stunts caused you to reconsider how you treat animals, including flies?
It’s 7 a.m., time for another who-am-I-kidding hour at the local gym. I don’t know why I bother. 
This isn’t fun. I’ve been working out for 30 years and have yet to see a single abdominal muscle. It seems pointless anymore. The padding around my middle may outlive me by decades. It isn’t fat, but some new form of matter, as indestructible as fruitcake. If I could patent it, it would make my fortune. They could use it to pave our crumbling highways or cap nuclear waste dumps. But I’m here now, trying to work up some enthusiasm for a healthy lifestyle. It isn’t going well. I’m wearing the new running shoes I bought the other day. (The sales girl was very kind; she didn’t laugh or roll her eyes.) They’re comfortable shoes, only now that I think of it, I hate running. My body feels like old roadkill. I’m losing faith that every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better/Bill Spence, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: With all the super-fit athletes swimming, biking, and running to prepare for Sunday’s Ironman, do you feel intimidated? Or do you agree with Pooh’s assessment: Oh bother?
Cyclists enjoy the boardwalk and the view of the North Channel Dam at Falls Park on the Spokane River at Post Falls. The park will get a significant facelift as a part of Avista’s application for a new 50-year license of it’s Spokane River Dams including new interpretive panels and trail improvements. Becky Kramer story here. (J. Bart Rayniak/SR)
Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
Bayview Bob (re: Deputies check out Hauser Lake SOS): It makes me wonder about people these days, when they can’t see kids enjoying life without thinking it is a crisis. Where did they come from where they would think kids sitting on a log was a emergency? On the other hand they were concerned, so that is a plus I guess.
Question: Do you think the concerned citizen over-reacted when s/he saw the three boys sitting on a log in the middle of Hauser Lake? Are people too quick to call the cops today?
OrangeTV:
I have no opinion on Glen Beck, never watched him. What I was referring to was how out there one must be to think that Katie Couric and Brian Williams were somehow not trustworthy, when in reality they’re just talking heads, not particularly opinionated, just report the news as far as I can tell. How could anyone see perky little Katie as somehow evil, I dunno.
Question: Which Spokane talking head do you think is the sharpest?
Scootermom:
The only time I ate Rocky Mountain Oysters was when my girlfriends and I were studying for the bar, at the bar, and kept being approached by annoying men. We ordered some Oysters, and they magically left us alone. Man repellent. Very effective.
Question: In the day, how did you chase away annoying members of the opposite sex?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
This undated photo provided by PETA shows Lydia Guevara posing on the set of her PETA photo shoot. The granddaughter of Cuban revolutionary leader Ernesto “Che” Guevara is the face of a new PETA campaign touting “the vegetarian revolution.” PETA spokesman Michael McGraw says the campaign will debut in Argentina in October and will be seen internationally. It’s PETA’s first vegetarianism campaign in South America. (AP Photo/PETA)
Today is the 169th day of 2009. There are 196 days left in the year. On this day in history: In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte met his Waterloo as British and Prussian troops defeated the French in Belgium. In 1983, astronaut Sally K. Ride became America’s first woman in space as she and four colleagues blasted off aboard the space shuttle Challenger. In 1984, Alan Berg, a Denver radio talk show host, was shot to death outside his home by two white supremacists. Paul McCartney is 67. In the news this evening: A poll shows that only 6% of Jewish Israelis view the Obama administration as pro-Israel here. And the Waterloo Wild Card is in play …
At Notes on a Napkin, Katrina spells out 10 movie quotes that she and hubby Paul use in everyday conversation, including:
“You gonna eat your tots?” Begging for food from someone else’s plate is a universal annoyance. Being cute about it helps your chances.
You can find the rest of Katrina’s list here.
Question: Can you think of a movie quote or two that you or your family uses in everyday conversation?
“There’s no event more “North Idaho” than the annual Big Back-In Lawnmower Drags held every Father’s Day Sunday in Spirit Lake,” posts Councilwoman KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho. “The population of this wild west town doubles on that day as every manner of lawn mower is souped up and piloted by a collection of down home dare devils right on Maine Street. Note: the streets of Spirit Lake are named after states.”
Memorial Park Cemetery advertises a buy-one-get-one-free sale on cemetery plots in Indianapolis, Wednesday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Top Cutlines:
Frum Helen Back/Hauser Thoughts grabbed her camera and headed around Hauser Lake to get a firsthand account of today’s search for 3 teens who initially were reported clinging to a boat in the middle of the lake. The boys, 19-year-old Zachary Castro a two, 16-year-old youths from Post Falls and Hauser, had pushed a log into the middle of the lake and sat on it for awhile. Marine deputies searched for the three until they were located. KCSD news release here.
1. guacamole
2. peas
3. shrimp
4. lamb
5. cantaloupe
6. clams
7. asparagus
8. green beans
9. coffee
10. deviled eggs
Question: I’ll eat 9 of 10 things on Midnight Marauder’s list (not sure re: clams). But I won’t touch liver. No where. No way. What is a food you absolutely will not eat?
With this country still locked in a deep recession, Yahoo! searched for the best places to start over. Afterward, it identified a top five, beginning with Anchorage, Alaska, where 28 percent of the companies in town plan to hire in the next quarter. Provo-Orem, Utah, was second, and Omaha, Neb.-Council Bluffs, Iowa, was fifth. Yahoo!’s picks for third and fourth were a surprise: 3. Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash., where the average home price is $133,134 and 24% of the companies are looking to hire next quarter, and 4. Yakima, Wash., where the average home price is $125,234 and 24% of the companies plan to hire in the third quarter/ More here.
Question: If you had to start over, would you pick the Tri-Cities or Yakima in Washington? If not, where would you pick?
“(Juneteenth) is the first event of it’s kind in North Idaho and I encourage you to give it your full support, fair reader,” posts OrangeTV/Get Out! North Idaho, of the flyer above. “Sounds like a fun day for kids of all ages, shapes and inclinations. Bonus: you can also watch Ironman mania unfold and take control of the city park and downtown.” More here.
HBO Numbers (for Wednesday, June 17): 7684/4459
Seattle Mariners’ Mike Carp is congratulated in the dugout after scoring in the first inning on a double by Ken Griffey Jr.during an interleague baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Thursday in San Diego. The Padres won 4-3 in 10 innings. Running boxscore here. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
Residents in a Chinese city are trying to come to grips with a strict regulation on dog ownership that’s set to take effect soon. Starting July first, families will only be allowed to own one dog — even if they currently own more than one. It’s prompting many to protest what they consider a cruel regulation. It appears to be aimed at controling the population of stray dogs in the city of Guangzhou, once known as Canton. Guangzhou is also preparing to host the Asian Games next year, and the feeling among officials is that fewer dogs means cleaner sidewalks. More here.
Custer rides again, although he’s atop a plastic motorcycle and in a McDonald’s Happy Meal 
box. And that doesn’t sit well with some in the Native American community. Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer was killed in 1876 along the Little Big Horn River by Native Americans he aimed to destroy. But Hollywood brought him back to life as a character in the Ben Stiller comedy “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” which opened in theaters May 22. McDonald’s included characters from the movie as toys in its kid-sized Happy Meals. The fast food chain’s decision to circulate the toy in Indian Country is akin to circulating a Hitler figure in Israel, according to Laurette Pourier, executive director for the Society for the Advancement of Native Interests-Today. “It’s insensitive and disrespectful”/Jeremy Fugleberg & Andrea Cook, Rapid City Journal. More here.
Question: Is this an example of political correctness? Or a legitimate beef?
Item: City of Bozeman demands passwords from job applicants: Aside from the privacy aspects, such requests also violate the terms of service of social networking sites/Sharon Fisher, New West.
More Info: Raising privacy and civil liberties issues, job applicants to the city of Bozeman are not only required to list all their social media accounts, but their passwords as well. “Please list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.,” the City form states. The application shows a space for passwords.
Question: Would you provide your password to your social media account(s) for a job?
An eagle sign welcomes visitors at the entrance to downtown Libby, Mont., Wednesday. The Environmental Protection Agency for the first time has determined there is a public health emergency in a contaminated community, targeting the Montana town for immediate federal attention. The Obama administration plans to pump $130M into Libby to address the public health emergency. Daily Inter Lake story here. (AP Photo/Rick Sheremeta)
A tenant came down yesterday evening at dinner time to yell at Dave because he told him that 
five cars were too many for two people. Two of them didn’t work, so the guy bought two more working ones. I explained to the man that I’m the one who sent Dave to talk to him and if he didn’t like it then he could move. He agreed to move but the yelling match continued and Dave was yelling right back. Yikes. I don’t like it when things like this happen. So I sent them outside to yell at each other. They continued yelling and Dave didn’t come in when I told him to just come in a eat dinner since the tenant said he was moving. I finally just closed the door and started eating the fried chicken dinner I cooked without burning anything/Frum Helen Back, Hauser Thoughts. More here.
Question: When did you last get in a shouting match with someone who wasn’t a member of your family?
This 1978 photo shows Denver talk-radio icon Alan Berg. It has been 25 years since Berg was gunned down in the driveway of his Congress Park condominium, and today’s commemoration comes just days after a white supremacist allegedly opened fire at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., killing a security guard. Berg was gunned down by Bruce Pierce of The Order, which formed in northeast Washington and was involved in a number of other violent crimes. Getaway driver David Lane, who later joined the Aryan Nations, was the getaway driver. More here. (AP Photo/Denver Post, file)
Question: Are white supremacists as organized and deadly today as they were 25 years ago? Or are their acts of violence more infrequent and isolated?
In response Wyoming Republican Cynthia Lummis urged Minnick to take a leading role in management of our nation’s forests. “President Obama has appointed a number of czar-type positions,” Lummis said, “And I would encourage President Obama to make Representative Minnick the ‘forest czar’ to address bark beetle issues”/Rocky Barker, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Has your view of Democrat Walt Minnick changed since he took office?
The (Idaho Statesman) did a front page article on the safe interaction of cyclists and 
motorists after three recent cyclist deaths in Boise from traffic accidents. They juice up the story by interviewing gold medal winner Kristen Armstrong. Its great that the Statesman sees the significance of highlighting this area of concern, its just too bad they wait till people died to emphasize the point. Its good Kristin is able to parley her great personal racing accomplishment into some well deserved recognition. But I strongly disagree with some of her advice to cyclists in the Treasure Valley:
Stop at stop signs and lights. Idaho law allows you to go through. But motorists get antsy as they watch you go keep going while they cool their heels.
Rest of Sisyphus/43rd State Blues post here
Question: Did you know that bicyclists are not required to stop at stop signs? Should they be?
Emma Dausman, 86, left, and Judy Conner, 69, pose at Clique Bowling Lanes in Grand Rapids, Mich. The two great-grandmothers won the Division 2 Women’s Doubles state bowling championship in May at a tournament in the Bay City area. (AP Photo/The Grand Rapids Press, Lance Wynn)
Question: I quit bowling several years ago when I averaged 159 for the second year in a row. I figured I wasn’t getting any better. So why keep trying. How about you? Do you bowl well enough to beat a great-grandmother?
Item: Crabb: Boosting the minimum wage next month will hurt, not help/Northwest Nazarene University.
More Info: In July, the federal minimum wage will to increase to $7.25 per hour from the current $6.55, a 10.6 percent increase. This change in the law was enacted in the spring 2007 when the economy was strong, growing in real terms at a 4.7 percent annual rate with unemployment at only 4.5 percent. The most recent reports say the economy today is declining in real terms at a 5.7 percent annual rate with unemployment at 9.4 percent. Furthermore, the national jobless rate for teenagers today is 22.7 percent. It is just these teenagers who will find it more difficult to land a job when employers must increase their base rate of pay more than 10 percent.
Question: Will the increase in the federal minimum wage from $6.55 to $7.25 help or hurt this country?
Item: Leader of Boise gay-pride group tells why he’s letting foe of homosexuality into parade/Aimee Niles, Idaho Statesman
More Info: The leader of a Boise gay group explained Wednesday why he is letting an evangelical Christian who opposes homosexuality into the parade this Saturday in Downtown Boise. Boise Pride does not restrict who participates in the Pride Parade, Brian Weatherhead, president of Boise Pride, told the Idaho Statesman. Tom Munds, a member of Middleton’s Canyon Springs Christian Church, said Tuesday that he will walk in the parade distributing water bottles with a Bible verse on the label and spreading his message of God’s love, including the belief that homosexuality is a sin.
Question: What would you have done if you were the leader of Boise Pride?
Chatterbox: Thanks, Stickman. I had another chemo treatment last Thursday. I am half way thru chemo, but still have another surgery and radiation to go. This round took a little more out of me, as will the next 3, I’m guessing. But, I’m heading into work today and feel pretty chipper. Guess this isn’t really the forum for this topic, so please accept my apologies.
DFO: No need to apologize, Chatterbox. Many here are concerned re: your health struggles. I appreciate your candor in sharing about them. If you’re up to it, I’d enjoy seeing you at Bent & Taryn’s BeerBQ on Saturday.
Bent: I am an unabashed supporter of the Cd’A Charter Academy. I have graduated three excellently educated children from that school, and I have one more who would have nothing else but to graduate with honors from the CCA.
Question: Do you agree/disagree w/Bent re: the quality of the Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy?
Digger: was en route back from Ellensburg last night on Highway 26 (you know, the 150 miles
of NOTHINGness between Colfax and Vantage). Speed limit 65 - I was pushing 80. I got pulled over by a state trooper and the first thing I told him was “Yep. You got me.” He seemed kinda shocked and asked me to repeat and I told him just that “I know I was going over the speed limit and you caught me.” He ran my D/L and registration and didn’t give me a ticket, surprisingly. Just a very stern warning about driving the appropriate speed for the road - which was kinda funny because he didn’t say “speed limit.”
Question: Have you ever been stopped for speeding and let go without a ticket?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
Today is the 168th day of 2009. There are 197 days left in the year. On this day in history: In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon‘s eventual downfall began with the arrest of five burglars inside Democratic national headquarters in Washington, D.C.’s Watergate complex. Singer Barry Manilow is 63. We’re celebrating National Wildlife Week. In the news today, a New York Times/CBS News poll shows a substantial majority of the public is uneasy with President Obama on key issues here. And now for your Watergate Wild Card …
Cirque Du Soleil employees walk on stilts in Orlando, Fla, on Tuesday. Cirque Du Soleil was trying to set a world record for stilt walking at the Orlando location as well as their other locations in Montreal, Las Vegas, New York, Brazil, China, Japan and Portugal as part of their 25th anniversary celebration. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Jacob Langston)
“I am a back door man,” Howlin’ Wolf first sang in 1961, and though he was singing about sneaking in the back door of his lover’s house while her husband was gone away, he could have been referring to the many wonderful exits that go completely unnoticed on the far sides of our local restaurants and lounges. Some are quite lovely. Others, meh. How experienced are you with the shadowy derriere’s of familiar Coeur d’Alene food and drink establishments? See how many you can guess!/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. More here.
DFO: A local business is offering a $10 gift certificate to the individual who can guess which back doors are which among the 20 photos shown at Get Out! North Idaho (link). Give it a try.
JBelle: I am going to try to relieve myself from separation; abandon my monastic instincts and 
practices for a few moments. A few soon moments. I will swim, swim!, in Lake Coeur d’Alene on my birthday, just as I did as a little kid. And recall and celebrate my American Red Cross swimming lessons on Lake Coeur d’Alene. And I will summarily throw caution to the wind and see if I can’t join people who are barbecuing and drinking beer before the year’s end. Gotta try it and dodge it no more. Full post here.
Question: Dunno if this means we’ll see JBelle at Bent & Taryn’s BeerBQ Saturday. But I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Meanwhile, JBelle’s preference for seclusion makes me wonder: Are you an extrovert, introvert, or ambivert?
Frum Helen Back reports @ Hauser Thoughts that hubby, Dave, didn’t know there was a fawn in this photo until he got home and looked at the pictures. More here.
Let’s try again with the cutline contest: Sierra Rawson, 5, of Canton, Ill., drinks from a fountain at the Gateway Building on the riverfront in Peoria, Ill., on Tuesday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Peoria Journal Star, Ron Johnson)
Top Cutlines:
Idaho Dad tells you about this Farragut State Park photo in his Wordless Wednesday post today on A Family Runs Through It here.
Looks like our colleague Phaedrus is taking on Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary and assortment of 
the Gookin & Co. sockpuppets at the Press site. Here he responds to a slap by Mary at Councilman Mike Kennedy’s family: “Mary, Mary, Mary, there you go again! I watched last night’s proceedings and witnessed Mr. Kennedy make a very clear and full disclosure, for you to imply in your signature, underhanded and rumor-mongering way that he did anything less is despicable and all too typical of your style. Second, I think you have set a new low in unethical behavior (even going lower than David Letterman’s treatment of Sarah Palin’s daughter) by mentioning Mr. Kennedy’s wife and family. It is one thing to disagree with one of your elected officials, it is quite another vile and disgusting tactic to invoke their family in your attack.” You can read the whole thread here.
Seems Coeur d’Alene Press reporter Tom Hasslinger cornered Councilman Mike Kennedy after the council hearing last night re: the commercial rezone request from North Idaho College and 
challenged (paraphrase): “When are you going to quit bickering with constituents?” Hasslinger was referring to Kennedy’s exchange with Dan Gookin, a so-called community “watchdog” — Hasslinger’s term not mine. Seems Hasslinger has a loose interpretation of the word constituents. Gookin’s a nag with a political agenda to get elected to the City Council and try to gum up the progress that’s breaking out all over town. Gookin, sidekick Mary Souza & Co. have repeatedly attacked Mayor Sandi Bloem, Kennedy and council, and North Idaho College via their Web site and the Coeur d’Alene Press, their media bedfellow. They’re hardly your ordinary constituency. Kennedy deserves points for being civil at all to this crowd. Furthermore, Hasslinger gave the impression that “many residents” expressed concern re: the rezoning, when only about a half dozen did Tuesday night — and three of those were: Gookin, Souza and another sidekick, Susie Snedaker. But I can’t blame Hasslinger for the shallow reporting. A good editor would have broken him of the lapdogism by now. Oh wait.
Many of you were fans of Jim Hagengruber (shown at left of former photographer Brian Plonka on a C-130 en route to Baghdad to interview Hauser’s Tripp twins in May 2008), the stellar former SR environmental reporter who was laid off with about half the CdA newsroom on Nov. 1, 2007. You know who went to work for the Christian Science Monitor. Now, as of yesterday, he’s going to work for President Barack Obama — as a diplomat. I’ll let him tell you about it: “I accepted an offer to become a diplomat for the US State Department. My training begins Aug. 3 in Washington, D.C. Getting to this point took a lot of work and I should be excited. Mostly, though, I’m thinking about my past 12 years as a journalist.” More here.
This project will take many years to unfold, and that is why the C-17 was requested, so as for future elected boards to have latitude in their decisions. Remember, the Boards that will be making those decisions are elected by the residents of Kootenai Co. and thus will be representing their desires. There are no current plans for the property, but as a Board we belived it very appropriate to acquire the land or risk the chance that it be devloped & lost forever. And one last fact is that there will be numerous opportunities for public input concerning the future of this property/Mic Armon. Full HBO comment below.
A shopper clutches a bag after leaving an Eddie Bauer store Wednesday in Seattle. Struggling mall retailer Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday but said a bidder already has agreed to keep the majority of its 371 stores open, honor gift cards and hold onto most employees. Story here. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Question: What did you last purchase at an Eddie Bauer store?
The second week of my freshman year in college, I walked into Rico’s Pizza Palace near campus and asked for a part-time job. Rico - who was Greek, not Italian, and roughly as wide as he was tall - looked me up and down and said, “You ever make pizza before?” “Yes, sir!” I replied. “Chef Boyardee from the box!” And so it came to pass that I became a pizza assistant. The job involved emptying a lot of garbage cans, washing a lot of dishes, stacking a lot of glasses, and - at the end of the day - standing on a step ladder and scraping pizza dough off the low ceiling in the kitchen/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. More here.
Question: Have you ever worked in a pizza joint? Tell us about it.
The Minuteman movement is a loose affiliation of xenophobic border vigilantes exasperated 
with America’s immigration policies. They are the darlings of the right wing noise machine who liken their activities to the country’s neighborhood watch. However, David Neiwert has been warning of the Minutemen’s extremist tendencies and is very sorry that his predictions are coming true. On May 30 a home invasion occurred in Arizona where the Hispanic resident and his nine year old daughter were murdered. Arrested are three members of one of the Minuteman chapters. The accused trigger man is Jason Eugene Bush (cause all murderers must have middle names) who is also accused of a murder of a “Mexican” in Wenatchee, Washington where he also had ties to the Aryan Nations based out of North Idaho/Sisyphus, 43rd State Blues. More here.
Question: Do you view the Minuteman movement as benign? Or vigilante in scope?
A grizzly bear chews on a chunk of elk in a meadow near Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone National Park last Thursday. (AP Photo/Powell Tribune, Toby Bonner)
Meghann Cuniff: One pet peeve about these incident writeups - the description provided is NOT of the suspect, it’s of the robber - the actual culprit. No suspect has been named yet!
Sgt. Christie Wood: It is my police training….in written reports we always refer to the person who committed the crime as the “suspect”. I have never used the word “culprit”. I will give it a try! We hope to have some video surveillance footage later today. I will get ahold of you.
Question: What word should Sgt. Wood use instead of “suspect” in her press releases to describe an individual who has committed a crime but hasn’t been apprehended?
A new project that tracks word usage in the Congressional Record shows that the most-used 
word by our current senior senator, GOP Sen. Mike Crapo, in the past year was “energy,” followed by, in order, “Idahoans,” “stories,” and “prices.” For 2nd District GOP Rep. Mike Simpson, the top word was “Idaho,” followed by “research,” “account,” and “systems.” Does this tell us something of where their minds and efforts in Congress lie? The word sample is smaller for our two newest members of the delegation, but the top word for GOP Sen. Jim Risch is “guard,” followed by “equipment,” “billion” and “reserve.” For Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick, the top word was “Idaho,” followed by “water,” “community” and “honor”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here (see question below before looking).
Question: Former Idaho reps Larry Craig and Bill Sali used the same word the most. Without looking at the Betsy’s link, can you guess what it was?
So why does Idaho continue to add six charter schools a year? Each represents a new layer of administration. Each drains an average of $1.3 million in state dollars from its host district. Sure, the traditional school system has fewer children to educate, but its costs don’t decline. You still need to hire a teacher whether her classroom has 24 or 23 students. Not surprisingly, some districts have found themselves raising supplemental property tax levies simply to maintain their programs after a charter school got launched in their back yards/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here. Also: Now’s not the time to create charter schools/Idaho Press Tribune
Question: Should charter schools be spared/expanded at the expense of public schools?
Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gel is shown in Boston Tuesday. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday said consumers should stop using Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gel and related products because they can permanently damage the sense of smell. (AP Photo/Eric Shelton)
Question: Do you use Zicam products?
Christie Wood (chairwoman of NIC trustee board): The mission of the college is education.
We are not real estate developers. After decades of wishing we could acquire land continguous to the college and now it is finally happening, why on earth would we ever wish to sell it??? The rumors started by a small group were irresponsible. As we move forward with the long term vision of building a modern campus we will work with the community to determine what buildings and programs best fit the footprint of the land. I am grateful to the City Council for understanding the future needs of higher ed and voting for the annexation and zoning. Full comment below.
DFO: I wonder if Gookin would now deny that he ever called Christie “Sgt. Cupcake” in print?
Question: Are you concerned that North Idaho College would sell of pieces of the Education Corridor to commercial developers?
When resident Dan Gookin — a recognized city watchdog — raised concerns about protecting the river access for future public green space, Kennedy insisted Gookin had championed for private development on that same stretch of land before. Gookin denied Kennedy’s claim. “You are so grandstanding right now,” Kennedy cut in. “That’s so false I can’t even tell you”/Tom Hasslinger, Press. Full story here.
Question: Who’s right — Kennedy or Gookin? Has Gookin supported the concept of private development on the proposed Education Corridor? Which guy would win in a no-holds-barred cage match?
Item: Corridor rezoning approved: Developers can move in near college site/Tom Hasslinger, Press
More Info: Many residents expressed their concern that giving a commercial zone next to the current residentially-zoned college campus would be giving the college — and any potential developer — a blank check for a project idea that has never passed the conceptual stage in more than two decades around the Lake City. But those concerns — rooted in a worry that NIC could sell pieces of the land off even if it maintains it won’t — seemed to be brushed aside by a council more in tune with relying on what the college has said it plans to do all along: That is, build a modern campus.
Question: Do you think Gookin, Souza & Co. have a legitimate concern re: the commercial aspect of the future North Idaho College property? Or are simply stirring things up again?
“Ironman Coeur d’Alene will begin with the elite athletes spilling into Lake Coeur d’Alene en masse at 7 a.m. Sunday,” reports Councilwoman KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho. “I love seeing the sea of humanity as nearly 2,000 wet-suited competitors flow like lava off of city beach into the water for their 2-mile swim. Amazing to think that many of them will not be crossing the finish line in downtown Coeur d’Alene for at least 12 hours from the time they hit the water for the swim leg. They will ride 112 miles on bicycles and then run a full 26.2 mile marathon before being declared Ironmen.”
The Coeur d’Alene Police Department provided this surveillance photo of the man who tried to rob Zips and took money from a Shell station till. Originally posted at 10:54 p.m. Tuesday
The Coeur d’Alene Police Department is currently investigating the report of two robberies that 
occurred in the downtown area of Coeur d’Alene, of Zips on Sherman Avenue and the Shell Station on Northwest Boulevard. The robberies were in close proximity and within an hour and 10 minutes of each other. The suspect description is similar in both cases. It is as follows: A white male, 18 to 20 years of age, 6 ft. slender build, large nose, deep set eyes, possibly short blond hair, Black hoodie zip up sweatshirt with a light color design on the zipper, long black shorts, long white t-shirt with a colored circular design on the left breast area, black skater shoes with no socks. Detail of robberies below.
Dennis: Well Wheels, you can believe what ever you want. But I can speak from experience in
agencies that I worked in and allied agencies that I was around, “Good ‘ol Boy” didn’t happen. Mind you,,, this is not Idaho I am referring too, young officers were taught early on that the were held to a higher standard and to “ALWAYS” assume that you are under the microscope. Individuals who liked to practice “Professional Courtesy” didn’t last very long and usually ended up working for “Sheriff BillyBob” at some podunk agency where ethics doesn’t seem to matter. (And I can think of a few in this area)
Question: Do you believe traffic cops give other cops a break when they pull them over for traffic violations?
A Nevada newspaper says it has been served a federal grand jury subpoena seeking information about readers who posted comments on the paper’s Web site. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Tuesday that its editor, Thomas Mitchell, plans to fight the request, which the newspaper received after reporting on a federal tax fraud case against business owner Robert Kahre. The subpoena seeks the identities and personal information about people who posted comments on the story. The newspaper said prosecutors told the judge in the case that some comments hinted at acts of violence and the subpoena was issued out of concern for jurors’ safety/Associated Press. More info.
Question: Would you quit commenting online, if you knew that your identity and related information could be obtained via subpoena or other legal maneuver?
Michael Ramirez/Investor’s Business Daily
Today is the 167th day of 2009. There are 198 days left in the year. On this day in history: In 1858, as he accepted the Illinois Republican Party’s nomination for U.S. Senate, Abraham Lincoln said the slavery issue had to be resolved, declaring, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Boxer Roberto Duran is 58. Today is National Morticians Day. In the news today, the FDA says some Zicam cold remedies are risky here. And your Honest Abe Wild Card is in play …
A pair of red-tailed hawks are seen at the top of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House in Washington Tuesday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
I empathize with new driver Wandee Katanaree, the 30YO CdA woman who drove into a house 
on 17th Street while practicing backing up. She’s older than most who learn to drive. But she was trying to be careful (although she now faces a fine of up to $300 for her efforts). I’ve only received one traffic ticket — for speeding — since I began driving 43 years ago. I still remember the night. I was an 18YO driving my new 1967 convertible Camaro on the highway for the first time at night — and had decided that no one was going to pass me. I’d just upgraded from a VW bug. Unfortunately, one of the vehicles behind me was a highway patrolman. I sped up as he drew closer, to prevent him from passing. Dumb idea.
Question: Can you remember the first ticket you received for a vehicle moving violation?
On Monday, Frum Helen’s Back’s hubby, Dave, snapped this photo of an osprey guarding its nest for Hauser Thoughts.
An Israeli man carries a life size plastic doll a beach party following the annual Gay Pride Parade in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
1. The new and improved multipurpose flotation device! — Charlie.
2. Perez Hilton, was seen hoisting a life size plastic doll of Miss
California, at the annual Gay Pride Parade in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday — Kage Mann.
3. A doll with with cellulitis! — Pecky Cox.
HM: Bayview Bob
Coeur d’Alene Police responded to 622 N. 17th St. at 10:46 am for the report of a vehicle that 
struck a residence. Officers contacted the driver of the vehicle Wandee Katanaree, 30, of Coeur d’Alene and determined she was uninjured. She was the only occupant of the vehicle, a 1999 B-4000 Mazda pickup. Wandee stated that she has her learners permit and was practicing backing up. She was on 17th Street when she accelerated instead of using the brake. Her vehicle struck the family room area of the residence located at 622 N.17th. No one was inside the residence at the time. The vehicle and the residence sustained extensive damage/Sgt. Christie Wood, Coeur d’Alene Police Department. More here.
A Berry Picker reminds Huckleberries: “Any Merry Hucksters who are inclined to support the education corridor might like to know that the CdA City Council will take up NIC’s request to annex the Stimson Mill site tonight at 6. The college is proposing C17 zoning in order to preserve maximum flexibility; some familiar residents are expected to oppose it. Positive public comment would be a nice counter weight.”
Item: ABC turns programming over to Obama; News to be anchored from inside White House/Drudge Report
Right Mind: There are people who said there is no bias in the media. Can you honestly imagine this ever happening for Bush? Or for any previous President for that matter? Not a chance. Yhe press used to be called “The 4th Estate of Government” because of their need to be independent from and report accurately on what government is doing. It’s very, very scary the romance that the mainstream media has developed with Obama.
Question: Are the media too cozy with President Barack Obama?
First lady Michelle Obama harvests vegetables with fifth graders from Bancroft Elementary School in the First Lady’s Garden that they planted in the garden on the South Lawn of The White House in Washington Tuesday.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Question: Which fresh vegetable is your favorite?
As more couples wait a few years before having children, some are finding themselves caught 
between raising their own kids and caring for aging parents. These adults are among the 10 to 16 million Americans who belong to the Sandwich Generation – people in their 30s and 40s who are “sandwiched” between the needs of their young children and their elderly parents. Many are overwhelmed by this challenge, especially couples who work full-time. Even if the parent doesn’t live with you, it still takes time, energy and financial resources/Virginia de Leon, Are We There Yet?. More here.
Are you part of the Sandwich Generation? What are your biggest challenges? Where do you go for support?
Lew2nl: Those irregular verbs are confusing. The easiest way for the high school kids to catch 
on was to tell them that the verb ‘lay’ means to ‘put’ or ‘place’. (lay, laid, have laid, laying). “He laid the book on the table yesterday.” “Please lay the book on the table now.” ‘He is laying the book on the table at this time.” The verb ‘lie’ means to ‘rest’ or to be in a ‘reclining’ or resting position. (lie, lay, have lain, lying) “I’m going to lie on the couch.” ‘I lay on the couch earlier today.’ I have been lying on the couch too long; it seems as if I have lain here all day.’” Full comment below.
Question: Are you good at grammar?
As the parent of two girls I understand the challenges of finding the time to get outside as a family, but it has to be done. It’s easy to fall in the trap of structuring our kid’s lives to a fault, with too much parental supervision. How much time are we allowing our kids to explore the world they live , to jump in puddles, chase fish up a creek, or climb trees? Sometimes on hikes I become impatient with my oldest daughter because she is exploring something. “We’ve got things to do… let’s go!” I say. What more important things do we have to do then allowing our children to explore the world? Sports are great; they are good for the body and provide a mechanism for learning discipline, but they don’t provide the opportunity for our kids to discover and use their imagination/Matt Haag, River Journal. More here.
Question: What do/did you do to encourage your children to go outside and explore the world around them?
I paid my property taxes for the first time by visiting the county treasurer’s office last month. Until December, my taxes had been part of my mortgage payment — and, therefore, paid by my mortgage company at the appropriate deadlines. I wrote out a check in December for the first-half taxes because I’d paid my house off earlier in the fall. It’s harder to pay property taxes in one lump sum from savings (even though I put money aside each month to do so). All of this is a reminder to you that property taxes are due Monday here.
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor meets with Sen. Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, on Capitol Hill in Washington today. News release here. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
30 minutes later, my phone rings again. This time it’s the dental hygienist. The one with the wicked metal scraper that spent so much time digging away at the base of my teeth. She had just called to give me a stern lecture about the proper maintenance of middle-aged teeth and gums. And by “stern lecture” I mean “talk to me like a stupid little child with a mouthful of cavities.” I don’t need that at my age. I’m quite capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much. I do not need to be harangued about flossing and brushing. Now, if she had scolded me about the health of my kids’ teeth, I could understand her anger and condescension. Children’s teeth need to have special, and frequent, care from a dentist/Idaho Dad, A Family Runs Through It. More here.
Question: Does your doctor/dentist/hygienist treat you like you’re a child?
Calamity J: I have heard from a number of African American people in Spokane who would like to go to this celebration but are afraid to gather publicly in Coeur d’Alene. They cite the recent events at the DC Holocaust Museum as being a real cause for concern here. I would love to confidently tell them that their fears are unfounded. I plan to take my elementary-age children but I’m a little nervous too. I’m frustrated that our fear affects the choices we make STILL. In fact, I’m angry about it.
Question: Is Calamity J expressing a legitimate concern re: the local Juneteenth celebration?
Two odd things emerged from the brief discussion this morning re: furlough benefits in the state of Idaho. First, the top unemployment benefit payout is $362 — or about $200 less than in Washington state. So Idahoans not only are paid far less in unemployment claims but we get to pay income tax, too. Whattadeal. Then, living in Coeur d’Alene instead of Spokane and Spokane Valley balances the scales. Secondly, you can’t use the furlough time to travel. Believe it or not, the great state of Idaho requires that you stay within two hours of home while collecting unemployment benefits. So I can’t combine my furlough with vacation time, for example, to take a whole month off, if I want to visit family more than two hours away. Even if you’re furloughed and planning to return to work in a week. All for $362. And they check up on you. I wonder which legislative genius came up with this crazy idea?
Question: Have you ever had problems with an unemployment claim?
A Palestinian boy reacts as youths frighten him by pointing their toy guns at him, in an alley in the West Bank refugee camp of Al-Amari in Ramallah Tuesday. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
I began my 40th year in the newspaper business today by listening to a brief presentation by an employment service rep re: how to handle a mandatory furlough this quarter. I’ve only filed 
for unemployment once in my previous 39 years in the biz — after I lost my job as managing editor of the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, Mont in 1982. I spent that summer painting my house for sale in Kalispell before landing a job as a news editor with the Lewiston Tribune. Beyond that, I’ve been gainfully employed as a journalist since June 1970 when I joined the Chico Enterprise-Record as a fill-in sportswriter and later general assignment reporter. I began my career at the end of the hot-metal/linotype days and will end it in cyberspace. I’ve worked as a sports editor, bureau chief, managing editor, news editor, local government reporter, columnist, editorialist, and now blogger. For most of my career, I wanted to remain a working journalist until I was 70. So I could say like few others that I spent a half century in the news biz. Now, I don’t know if newspapers will be around in 2019. I’ll continue to ride the newspaper wave for another 5 years, if I can. You’re welcome to ride the wave with me until market pressures bring it to an end.
Franklin Moore, 7, of Coeur d’Alene gets a quick equestrian lesson from Albert Wilkerson of Athol in preparation for Juneteenth, African-American Independence Day at the Human Rights Education Institute in Coeur d’Alene on Monday. Albert will be dressed as a Buffalo Soldier for the celebration on June 19. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
Item: Event celebrates end of slavery: CdA to observe Juneteenth for first time this week/Alison Boggs, SR
More Info: Juneteenth dates to June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas, with news the Civil War had ended and slaves were free. Although it was two years after the Emancipation Proclamation became official, the document had little impact on Texans because few Union troops were on hand to enforce it, Dolezal said. The first Juneteenth celebration was held the following year, and it has spread nationwide, with events in most states.
Question: Are you happy that Coeur d’Alene will observe Juneteenth for the first time?
They make these candles with the elderly in mind. Only two required on the birthday cake. Not Question: My older sister turned 64 on Flag Day. I’ll be 60 this November. I and my siblings have replaced our parents’ generation as the next one to go. What’s the best way to view 60 and older — as a blessing that you’ve made it this far? Or a source of worry that you’re on the downhill side of things?
a bad idea when you turn Medicare age, as my brother Mike did yesterday. … A bunch of us gathered at the Thompson cabin for the party. I made it there late because I attended yet another memorial service — second one this week. This was for everyone’s friend Carole who missed making her 60th birthday by two days, due to lung cancer. Carole of Keokee, as many of us call her, had a good party with attendees filling the Oden Grange Hall. After leaving early, I thought about how birthday parties for people our age are becoming more and more meaningful, as we count our blessings every time we lose another friend/Marianne Love, Slight Detour. More here.
Item: Teen’s death sets off water warning: Personal watercraft are dangerous, though legal, for young teens/Rick Thomas, Press
More Info: “Most accidents on the lake happen among people in the same group,” Cindy said. And though it is legal for riders age 14 and up to operate any boat with 15 horsepower or more solo, “experience is the best teacher,” Wolfinger said. He suggests youthful boaters, like young car drivers, should spend time with experienced operators before going out on their own.
Question: Should the state set a minimum age limit of at least 16 for piloting personal watercraft and/or boats?
“Tourists have been drawn to beautiful North Idaho for decades,” posts Councilwoman KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho. “This bathing beauty on the cover of the 1971-72 Fun Guide is Debbie Johnson, a classmate from Coeur d’Alene High School and a former Miss Coeur d’Alene. Swimsuit fashions may change but the natural beauty of our lakes and rivers continue to make this a destination for vacations.” Read Kerri’s online Main Street column here.
Question: Do you wish that today’s bathing suits had more material in them, like the one above?
BillH: What the heck good are labels (and yes, I use and abuse them too) when we get to 
discussing political thought and ideas of government? Labeling me a right winger, and then making the leap that I must be ignorant and anti-science, most likely fascistic, a Jew hating, racist, and oh by the way, a mindnumbed robot waiting for marching orders from Rush or Beck or some other evil hater… well, it just doesn’t do justice to my Yorkie loving side, or take into account that I too am nice to squirrels. Or that we might find a ton of things we agree on concerning size of government and individual freedom?
Question: What’s the best label for you?
RE: Marysville schools ban proselytizing/Everett Herald
Nic: I’m a former student of the Marysville school district, and they do allow recruitment for 
political parties on campus. They also have a long history of infringing on religious freedom - including (but not limited to) banning prayer{not just group prayer, but individual prayer as well}, voluntary group bible studies held outside of school hours, etc. However, the school district’s official position of religion on campus seems to restrict only Judeo/Christian beliefs. They allow religious clubs for students of all religions except the big three (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). Full post below.
Question: Are public schools generally hostile to the Judeo-Christian faith?
Escapee: McCartney may have been the Beatles’ best musician, but he has no place making Pronouncements All Over The World About Everything, as if he were suddenly qualified on such things (re: Meatless Mondays). He should focus on music, ‘cos he really hasn’t written anything that’s really good in more than a decade. McCartney will do anything he has to do in order to get Public Attention. John Lennon once said that Paul is his own best Press Agent, and I agree. Stick to music, Paul …
Question: Do the political and cultural declarations of entertainers have an effect on you?
Michael Ramirez/Investor’s Business Daily
Today is the 166th day of 2009. There are 199 days left in the year. On this day in history: On June 15, 1215, England’s King John put his seal to Magna Carta (“the Great Charter“) at Runnymede. In 1864, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton signed an order establishing a military burial ground, which became Arlington National Cemetery. A year ago, The NBC News program “Meet the Press” paid tribute to its host, Tim Russert, who had unexpectedly died two days earlier. Waylon Jennings turns 72. In the news today, David Letterman has apologized go Gov. Sarah Palin for the crude joke he made about the governor’s daughter here. Today, is Power of a Smile Day. And the Monday Wild Card is in play …
Paul McCartney, center, poses for photographs with his daughter Mary, top, right, gesturing behind his head, and Yoko Ono, left, to launch a new food campaign entitled ‘Meat Free Monday’ in London Monday. The campaign encourages people to try and help slow climate change by having one meat free day a week. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Question: What do you think of former Beatle Paul McCartney’s crusade for meatless Mondays?
JeanieS:
I have a cousin on the Mormon side of the family with ten children and the oldest have reached graduation age - and therefore, marriage, babies, showers, etc., etc., etc. I have met these children once - seven years ago at our grandmother’s funeral. Now I’m getting back to back graduation invitations, shower invitations, wedding invitations, and baby announcements, which overlap depending on which kid it is and what they are doing, i.e., graduating, marrying, procreating, and/or begetting her 15-so-far grandchildren. I’m Auntie Money Bags. They think.
Question: Jeanie makes a good case re: when it’s inappropriate to hit a relative or long lost friend up for a graduation/shower/wedding/baby gift. Can anyone provide a decent measuring stick to such things?
At OnLocation North Idaho, Councilwoman KerriT posts: The Car d’Lane Cruise and Car Show is one of the biggest and best in the region, kicking off with the Friday night cruise down Sherman Avenue. Nearly 1,000 cars, from polished perfection to fresh from the junkyard, take part in the rolicking rolling rumble. An album of images from this year’s cruise is here.
A rooster, right, crows at a peacock in the yard of a horse ranch just west of Pittsville, Wis., Friday. Both birds are pets of the owners of the ranch. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Marshfield News-Herald, Dan Young)
Top Cutline:
A bold thief or two tried to make off with two bicycles ridden by Coeur d’Alene police officers 
while they were filling out reports early Sunday morning at the City Hall substation. Officer Ed Richardson reports that he heard a loud noise outside the substation door and saw that a male in a white T-shirt and blue jeans was pushing a police bicycle up a nearby hill. Richardson said he raced outside, yelling at the suspect to drop the mountain bike. The suspect did on Eighth Street — and continued running. A second bike ridden by Officer James Dooley remained missing at the end of the shift. The bikes were valued at $500 and $600. Two police citation books also were stolen.
Austin Daye took the deadline clock down to the final hour before announcing he will keep his name in the NBA Draft. About an hour before Monday’s 2 p.m. (PST) deadline, Daye informed Gonzaga’s coaching staff by telephone that he will forgo his last two years of collegiate eligibility to remain in the NBA Draft/Sportslink. More here.
Question: Do you think Austin Daye can make it as a pro when a more polished Adam Morrison has failed to make an impact so far?
My dad’s been sick pretty much my whole life. He first grew ill when I was nine months old, and 
has been on death’s door several times since. As I type this, thanks to 2007’s transplant he is fortunately in the best health of my life, doing better at 60 than he did at 40. So why do I bring this up now? When I was in high school, I would sometimes ask Dad if he thought he would make it to my college graduation. His answer was always the same: “Well… I’m pretty sure I’ll be there for your high school graduation.” That was 2004. It is now 2009, and I am graduating from Dartmouth College the day after tomorrow. The single greatest thing about my life, a fact that gives me more joy and happy tears than anything else about the past 20 years, is that my parents - both of them - will be in Hanover in about 30 minutes/Nathan Empsall, Wayward Episcopalian, posted on Friday. More here.
Question: Do you have a loved one in your life who has battled health issues for a long time?
From time to time, it is frustrating to try to get the King to do honey-do’s. Some times it takes years. And even then, they sit. So what to do? Well, one thing is start the project yourself. And then when you get over your head, stop. You have a 70-30% chance of it being done. I say 30% not, as I still have orange cupboards in the kitchen. The King has promised me a remodeled kitchen for years. To help prompt him, I painted them orange. Well, he hates them but not enough to do anything yet but promise/Cis, From A Simple Mind. More here.
Question: Do you encounter stiff resistance when you try to get your honey to do something around the house or yard?
Pecky Cox/As The Lake Churns snapped this photo of a bird that she said appeared to be posing for her Saturday on Lakeshore Road. She’d like to know what kind of bird it is?
An Associated Press-Brides.com poll released Monday shows that the rituals of
attending weddings and giving the couple gifts, while not totally
recession-proof, are still deeply important to family and friends, and somewhat
resistant to the economic meltdown. Story here.
Item: Coeur d’Alenes to build $75M expansion of Bingo Casino/Examiner.com
More Info: This will be the resort’s largest expansion yet and will see the addition of 105 hotels rooms, bringing the total to 307. Two new wings will be built housing not only the extra rooms but a fitness center, 15,000sq ft spa, gourmet steakhouse, and an amphitheater that will stage concerts and other outdoor events. Construction costs are estimated at $75million, with work expected to be complete by 2011.
Question: Why do you visit the Coeur d’Alene Bingo Casino — gamble? Entertainment? Food? Golf? Employment? Other?
Item: Marysville schools bar volunteers from advocating religion/Kaitln Manry & Krista Kapralos/Everett Herald
More Info: Pastors and youth group leaders will no longer be able to talk with students at length about religion in Marysville schools. Superintendent Larry Nyland issued new guidelines last week that limit how much volunteers can discuss religion with students. He decided to consult a lawyer for advice on the issue after a mother complained in March that a 19-year-old volunteer at Totem Middle School had used MySpace to offer her 11-year-old daughter a ride to church. The invitation upset the mom, Rianne Olver, and sparked a controversy between advocates for the separation of church and state and those who believed church volunteers were being unfairly criticized.
Question: Is the superintendent impinging on the free-speech rights of volunteers?
“South of Coeur d’Alene, just off Mica Bay Road, are two alpaca ranches I’ve driven past many times. But today the creatures in the field were looking a bit different,” posts Councilwoman KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho. “A lot like a herd of space alien Q-Tips, actually. Recently sheared and now sporting just topknots of alpaca wool, their necks looked really long. They were as curious about me and my camera as I was about them. There are close-up pictures of their adorable faces HERE.”
Eagle Eye: Why do some people insist on bringing their gigantic dogs into a crowded area? I 
saw two people dragging big dogs thru people on a crowded sidewalk. These two dogs didnt like each other and atacked each other with snarling teeth. The bigger problem was that there was a two year old girl in between. It could have been tragic, but the mother of the girl managed to put her cigarette down long enough to pull the toddler of the ground. I could go on but my final sight put the “icing” on the cake. A 20 something year old was walking a dog that was a cross between a pit bull and a dinosaur near the library. The dog proceeded to hunch over and deposit a pile the size of a football on the sidewalk. When the dog was finished she proudly continued her walk leaving the pile to be enjoyed by everyone.
Question: Should Coeur d’Alene ban dogs @ major downtown events, like Car d’Lane, Fourth of July events, etc.?
At about 10:30 (Sunday), the men of the fire engine came to our rescue. Maybe not in a huge way for them, but in the biggest way for us. Myself and my two sons, ages 3 and 5, stopped in the parking lot of the Ramsey Elementary school, so that my boys could play on the schools play ground equipment. Well in getting the boys out of the truck and all the excitement my son shut the truck doors before I could get the keys out. My keys, purse and our belongings where inside. The weather was of course hot and I could not figure out what to do/Mary A., Post Falls. Full e-mail here. Question: Have you ever locked yourself out of your vehicle? What did you do?
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department has released the name of the victim of the fatality 
personal watercraft accident from last Friday on Coeur d’Alene Lake. Alicia Edgell, 14 of Coeur d’Alene was killed when she was involved in a personal watercraft accident on Coeur d’Alene Lake near the Third Street Docks. Alicia was thrown from the personal watercraft that she was operating and struck another personal water craft driven by Taylor Huber, 15 of Pinehurst, Idaho. The impact on the other vessel caused critical head and internal injuries. She died from her injuries Saturday afternoon. The investigation indicates that Alicia was operating her personal watercraft, swerved suddenly and was thrown from her vessel. The two vessels did not collide. No citations have been issued in this matter./Capt. Ben Wolfinger, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department.
DFO: The Edgell family lives on my block in the Borah Triangle area. During the huge December snowstorms, Alicia’s father used a front-end loader to dig our street out. Quality family. This tragedy has shock the neighborhood to the core.
I’m resurrecting a recipe today from a Cookbook Corner column I wrote a couple of years ago 
about a cookbook titled, “seduced by Bacon: Recipes & Lore About America’s Favorite Indulgence.” I have been a bacon addict all my life, but I never got too creative beyond BLTs and using the pork product for seasoning a lot of favorite dishes. “seduced By Bacon,” however, opened up a whole new world for me. There were dozens of great recipes, but my favorite and one that became a standard was for a tasty little tidbit called Candied Bacon Bites. As I was considering whipping up a batch this weekend, it occurred to me this would be a great appetizer for a Father’s Day brunch/Vera White, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here.
Question: Are you a bacon addict?
Craig Alexander, of Boulder, Colo., right, collapses along side Chris Lieto, of Danville, Calif., left, at the finish line of the Ironman 70.3 Boise Saturday in Boise. Alexander came from behind to edge out Lieto at the finish line to win the race. (AP Photo/Idaho Press-Tribune, Greg Kreller) Question: What is the most strenuous thing you’ve ever done — work or recreation wise?
MamaJD: On Friday night, attended a birthday party held at the Kroc. While eating cake and getting ready to swim, the leisure pool was closed due to a Code Brown incident. According to a staff member, this is about the 5th such incident. When a Code Brown occurs, the pool shuts down for cleaning for 24 hours. 24 HOURS! (P.S. For those who don’t know, Code Brown stands for poo in the pool.)
Question: Do you get nervous when swimming in public areas — City Beach, Kroc Center, etc. — that Code Brown situations go unreported?
Haidari claims that his place is the only spot in the Inland Northwest where one can procure 
real-deal Persian cooking, and as far as I can tell, there’s no reason to argue. While the quality and authenticity of the food served at Babak Kabab is absolutely top notch and extravagant in flavor, you won’t need to bother breaking out that classy Members Only jacket for a visit. In fact, wear your muumuus and baggy sweatpants. You won’t even need to get out of the car, as Haidari serves his meals from a tiny, drive-by-and-miss-it espresso stand located on Government Way, a few blocks north of Appleway near Lloyd’s Automotive. I turned into the tiny lot and saddled my car up next to the happy little hut/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. More here.
Question: Do you enjoy Persian food?
Though it’s academically accurate, according to standard political ideology scales, to call 
people like von Brunn “extreme right-wing” - the SLPC (Southern Law Poverty Center) calls them “radical right” – I propose that we called them what they are: hate terrorists. Not only does the term emphasize their vile psychological makeup, it removes any hint of an association with very conservative Republicans. Unfortunately, many members of these radical groups identify themselves as Republicans, but no Republican I know claims them, and it’s a wildly unfair association which suggests an alliance with terrorists. It’s also unwarranted to help legitimize hate terrorist groups as some sort of generally-acknowledged political party. We should abandon the “right-wing” term in naming these monsters/Jill Kuraitis, New West Boise. More here.
Question: What do you think of Kuraitis point that monsters like James Von Brunn belong in their own special category: hate terrorists?
A motorist drives past the Idaho Meth Project billboard on Seltice Way in Coeur d’Alene. Jacob Livingston/SR Handle Extra reports that the graphic billboard campaign is aimed at preventing individuals from using meth for the first time. Story here. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
Elin Bjerre from the city of Kristianstad in southern Sweden, centre, stumbles over the finish line to win the 100 meters final in the Stiletto Run, as another competitor falls to the ground, during the event held in Stockholm, Sweden, Saturday. Bjerre won 10000 Euro worth of shopping. You write the cutline. (AP Photo / Leif R Jansson, SCANPIX)
Top Cutlines:
Herb Huseland: Last Thursday, I spent about 5 hours cooking up my patented world famous 
potato salad. It came out perfect, which doesn’t happen all the time. The potatoes came out perfect, which is, believe me, not automatic. I added all of my secret ingredients, and ended up with perhaps the best Potato salad I have ever made. The Captain’s wheel agreed to keep said potato salad in their walk in, because I had made about fifteen pounds of the stuff for Taryn’s party in Spirit Lake. Alas, this is where the senility comes in. You see, Taryn’s party isn’t today, but a week away, Jun 20 (3 to 8 p.m. Saturday). More here.
Question: Why are/aren’t you coming to Bent & Taryn’s summerfest?
Meghann M. Cuniff: 
Here’s an interesting article from the NYT about the struggles facing the Salvation Army’s Kroc Center project. Disappointingly, the article makes no mention of Coeur d’Alene’s Kroc Center, which seems to go against the developing trend of communities once committed to the Kroc vision not being able to support it because of the recession. For those interested in the national issue but focused on the local impact, it’s a big missing element in the story.
Question: Why has the Coeur d’Alene Kroc Center been such a success when similar facilities are having trouble elsewhere during the recession?
Busy weekend in Cda for car guys. I sent a car down to the show that belongs to a friend of mine in Scottsdale. It won the Peoples Choice trophy. We sold 3 cars over the weekend and I am working two more right now. As a Cda merchant, the best benefit for us is the draw it has on car people from all over the region.
Question: What did you enjoy most re: Car d’Lane weekend?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
I didn’t find the car I drove as a teen at Car d’Lane Saturday — a 1967 Camaro convertible Rally Sport. But I saw several models on Lakeside and Sherman that were fairly close. As we were oogling the vintage cars, I used the phrase “chick magnets” to describe several muscle cars. Which bugged Mrs. O. It’s insulting to think that a girl would go out with a guy simply because he has a hot car, she said. To which Amy Dearest said that she could see how it might happen. Later, I got another cold stare when I wondered aloud re: how many children were conceived in the late 50s and 60s in the back seats of GTOs, 56 Chevys, Firebirds, etc. There’s nothing like downtown Coeur d’Alene and the waterfront on a sunny summer day. Now, to replay the weekend Wild Card …
James C. Mitchell, 48, of Athol, was killed Saturday afternoon when he lost control of his motorcycle on Prichard Creek Road, crossed the center line, and crashed into a pickup driven by Michael W. Ellis, 51, of Silverton. The accident occurred at about 1:55 p.m. Mitchell was pronounced dead at the scene. Neither Ellis or his passenger, Ranae Ellis, 45, of Silverton, were hurt in the accident. ISP report below.
A 14-year-old Coeur d’Alene girl involved in a personal watercraft accident died Saturday as a result of her injuries. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department said she sustained extensive internal and head injuries after being ejected from the Yamaha personal watercraft she was driving on Lake Coeur d’Alene around 2:50 p.m. Friday. The girl collided with a 15-year-old girl from Pinehurst and both drivers had male passengers. Police are not releasing the name of the victim and the accident is still under investigation/SR.
Item: CdA schools employees take cuts, preserve jobs/Jody Lawrence-Turner
More Info: Teachers and certified staff whose contacts called for 5 percent raises next year agreed to scale those back, taking only 2.5 percent increases. Additionally, they approved an increase their insurance premium contribution by 3 percent during a vote Thursday night, said Paula Marano, president of the Coeur d’Alene Education Association.“I feel relieved,” she said. “Because of the economic situation we were worried about the fallout.” The wage and benefit concessions will save the district more than $2.4 million. The district still has a $2.7 million gap to fill
Question: Would you take a pay cut and/or unpaid furloughs to save jobs in your company or government entity?
“It was all in pieces,” said Bob Evans of Post Falls about his 1951 Chevy two door hard top in Coeur d’Alene on Friday. Evans spent four years rebuilding the car. He is part of Car d’Lane cruise and show this weekend. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
Question: Car d’Lane, of course, is a celebration of vintage cars and the coming of summer. Several years ago, downtown Coeur d’Alene events, like Car d’Lane and the Fourth of July, were plagued with an unruly element that led to one riot and almost others. What do you think of the job the Coeur d’Alene police have done controlling the big crowds in recent years?
Nic: Speaking of things I’ve seen while walking to work: There is a
gloriously obese woman who commutes along Ironwood between 5:00 and
5:30 in the morning. Every time she passes me, I can’t help but think
of Chris Farley’s “fat guy in a little coat” song from Tommy Boy. I know it’s mean, but I can’t help myself. And I really want a Smart Fourtwo.
On a side note, I saw her in the Jack-in-the-Box drive through this
morning. Would that be a cause & effect fallacy if I make a
correlation? More here.
Question: How do you react when you see someone who’s not just overweight but obese?
Passengers exiting an Allegiant airplane take photos and get a better look at the mud the plane was stuck in after landing at the Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport in Fort Collins, Colo., Friday. Passengers were taken by buses to the terminal. (AP Photo/Loveland Reporter-Herald, Jenny Sparks)
Question: The passengers, of course, were lucky that the plane got stuck in the mud during the landing phase than during the takeoff phase, which would have caused quite a delay. My daughter was preparing to board her Horizon flight in Portland for Spokane Thursday when she was told that her plane and crew hadn’t left Spokane yet. So she waited two hours for takeoff. What is the longest you’ve ever waited for a flight?
David Laird: David Horsey has spoken out this morning for the non-aligned persons of American 
society who spend a disproportionate amount of time each day looking for reasons to hate President Barack Obama who recently took his wife out for dinner and a night at the theater. Could it possibly be that one of the reasons for the resentment expressed in David Horsey’s cartoon this morning might be because some married middle-aged men have been ignoring their duty to take their wives out on a hot evening date, maybe just once in awhile? Of course, some may ask, is that actually necessary? More here.
Question: When did you last take your wife/significant other out to dinner? Did you consider it a duty?
Bent: I spent about eight hours bottling Wednesday (for Taryn A Hecker Photography & Bent’s Beer Garden’s Inaugural Summer Cook off in Spirit Lake Saturday, June 20). I got 10.5 cases in all. I
made 10 gallons of Telepathy, a nice and smooth European pilsner; 10
gallons of Apple of My Eye, an apple infused European Lager, a nice and
light beer with apple notes that are not cidery tasting; but only about
5 gallons of Bloody Marion pictured above, a wheat beer (or hefe)
infused with Marion berries. It’s great summer beer and it’s red
bloody-mary-like tint makes it look pretty cool with a slice of orange
floating in it. (Update 2: I need to make more of this right away).
Question: In the HBO comment section Friday, Bent offered to trade Me a six-pack of his assorted homemade beer for a coupla cups of huckleberries. What would you trade bent for an assorted six pack of his home brew?
Halo Kaiser, 3, blocks her ears with her hand and a teddy bear while being pulled along in her wagon as the siren from the Reliance Fire Company’s aerial platform blares while taking part in the Berwick Elks Pet and Toy Parade in Berwick, Pa., Thursday. (AP Photo/Bloomsburg Press Enterprise, Jimmy May)
Question: What noise bothers you most?
I’m off today because Amy Dearest is in town and I need to start burning furlough in a way that affects this blog the least. But that doesn’t mean I’m leaving you empty-handed. I posted a bunch of stuff below. And CindyH will be by shortly to add a few more things today. I’ll check in on occasion to see if there’s something to post front. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy yourself and that you can bear with me while I work off my 5 unpaid days over the next coupla months, one day at a time, during this seemingly never-ending newspaper industry funk. (I’ll be back Monday.) You might want to read Bent’s post below to see what’s in store for the summer bash that he and Taryn Hecker are planning in Spirit Lake next weekend. Now, for your Wild Card …
Item: Classic cars rolling in for Car D’Lane: Downtown cruise takes place Friday night/Alison Boggs, SR
More Info: Four years ago on a day trip to Metaline Falls, Bob Evans of Post Falls saw an ad for a 1951 Chevy in the small town’s newspaper. The classic car buff called and discovered the Chevy in pieces. But he saw its potential, so he forked over $4,000 then drove back and forth three times to haul the two-door hardtop home in his trailer. Now the Chevy is pristine and joins hundreds of other classic cars Saturday for Coeur d’Alene’s 19th annual Car d’Lane show. Classic car fanatics have come from as far as Colorado, California and Canada to show off their pre-1972 beauties on the streets of downtown.
Question: Did you cruise the main street of your town in hot rods and muscle cars as a teen-ager? Tell us about it.
Charles Dixon: “…your description of Palin as “a woman [who] does nothing to advance the cause of woman’s equality” only serves to reinforce my entire post. She’s the elected governor of a state. She was a vice presidential candidate. And she did all of it while raising a family. How does that not qualify as advancing the cause of women’s equality except for those of you who think a woman’s equality has to be defined by her political beliefs?” Full comment here: http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/2009/jun/12/did-lettermans-palin-joke-go-too-far/#comments
What say you? And why is Sarah Palin still getting so much press?
Stretch of Spokane River reopened: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/12/stretch-spokane-river-reopened/
Wal-Mart wants smaller Pullman store: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/12/wal-mart-wants-smaller-pullman-store/
CdA Tribe plans $75 million casino expansion: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/12/casino-plans-big-expansion/
Idaho state parks director to step down: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/12/idaho-state-parks-director-step-down/
Classic cars rolling in for Car D’Lane: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/12/classic-cars-rolling-car-dlane/
And stormy weather may be in store: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/12/thunderstorm-risk-increasing/
This is not a flimsy excuse to post an Antonio picture. The auto industry is in deep doo-doo and according to this story: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/12/what-might-help-automakers-junk-gibberish-car-name/ getting rid of stupid car names like Mercedes CLK or Cadillac DTS might help the ailing industry.
Here’s the good news: “Brighter days are dawning, maybe. Namebase’s Beckhardt, who says alphanumeric names are passe, is bringing back pronounceable ones that “clearly communicate the benefits or personality of the car.”
Celebrities have their monikers on loads of things, why not cars? For instance, the Banderas would be sexy and sophisticated, with more enough under the hood to go the distance.
Well? What would you drive?
So, I’m zipping down Division Street hill when I see a motorcycle cop parked near the bottom of the incline. I immediately braked, but it was too late. He pulled me over for going 45 in a 30, but in a burst of generosity, wrote the ticket for 10 above, instead of 15. I’ve been driving for 28 years and have only received ONE ticket— until recently. Last Mother’s Day I got a ticket out by Diamond Lake, and now this one.
When I finally arrived downtown, I pulled into a spot with an hour and half still on the meter. I always overfeed meters, ‘cause I know someone will use whatever time I don’t.
Obviously, I used up my ticket karma (I always drive too fast), but I’ve got parking meter karma to spare. Do you believe in karma?
JBelle: Breaking news for the local area, surely not to be reported anywhere but here but significant nevertheless: Jonathan Mueller of Architects West has been named President Elect
by the American Society of Landscape Architects. It’s like being
president of the American Bar Association or the AMA, except instead of
driving a BMW you drive a muddy pick up with Shoshone County plates on
it. :) The Coeur d’Alene Vikings rise to the very top again!
DFO: Please join me in a monster hat tip to landscape architect extraordinaire Jon Mueller, one of the Coeur d’Alene community’s many good guys.
Item: Untangle trouble at top of county/Coeur d’Alene Press editorial
More Info: At odds are Sheriff Rocky Watson, one of the region’s most popular elected officials, and the three county commissioners, Rick Currie, Todd Tondee and Rich Piazza. North and South Korea have made more diplomatic progress than these guys. With bad blood brewing for several years now, it’s difficult enough to trace the deep roots of disagreeability, let alone find a solution to the stalemate on coming up with a design and funding plan for adequate jail facilities. Let’s start by acknowledging that county officials have failed to float a proposal that taxpayers can embrace, including last year’s disastrous request for nearly $150 million that quickly abandoned “need” and lustily embraced “want.”
Question: Actually, this is a very good editorial. Unquestionably, Sheriff Rocky Watson and the Board of County Commissioners hardly can tolerate one another. Would you rather have the sheriff and commissioners be buddies? Or wary of one another?
Wanda Sykes will be performing tomorrow night in Spokane, fresh from her gig at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner. The gig in which her joke wishing Rush Limbaugh’s kidneys to fail went flatter than a pre-implant Pamela Anderson.
Question: Humor is so subjective. Sykes fails to tickle my funny bone. Who tickles yours?
The Satanist finds that forgiveness simply allows the weak and cruel
license to continue being weak 
and cruel. We feel that society coddles
the criminal, allowing him to thrive, breed more criminals, and
continue an anti-Darwinian support of the worst of us. The courts
maintain a mythology that sex offenders can be either cured or
controlled, and the truly innocent suffer. The churches want us to
forgive these animals despite the fact their supposed gods do nothing
to prevent these crimes against women and children—which, if one reads
The Holy Bible, should surprise no one. That book hardly defends women
and kids, but it sure does demand that we offer forgiveness to those
who damage them!*/Ygraine Gidney-Mitchell, Examiner.com Seattle. More here.
Question: Ygraine is the area spokeswoman for the Church of Satan. She’s expanded her recent comments re: Spokane Level 3 sex offender Danny Schertz (see link). What do you think of Ygraine’s views that forgiveness is for the weak?
Last week there was an article written about the issue
of immigration. In this article it was implied 
by two Mexican
immigrants that Americans will no longer work at hard physical labor
jobs. Myth: Americans will no longer work at hard physical labor jobs, because they consider them demeaning. Fact:
Americans will work at hard physical labor jobs, but not for what
illegal Mexican workers will work for. Most of these illegal Mexicans
work for minimum wage and their contractor/employers hire them for one
main reason: To increase their profits by paying them less money. Most
of these employers do not pay insurance on their illegal workers
either. The bottom line is Americans will work at hard physical labor
jobs, but they want to be paid a living wage so they can pay their
bills/Kage Mann, Coeur d’Alene Press. More: letter to editor.
DFO (on furlough): Kage, how did you get the Press to run a letter to the editor w/o use of your real name?
Question: Do you agree with Kage Mann that Americans aren’t afraid of working tough jobs. But they won’t do the work for the pay or lack of benefits offered “illegal Mexican workers”?
Saturday marks the 13th Annual BOBfest, the high school band battle, put on by Spokane’s Chase Youth Commission: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/12/bobfest-expands-range-of-genres/ My first smile of the morning came from reading the list of bands scheduled to compete. Here’s a sampling:
If you had a band, what would you call it? And Toad, how was the concert at the Grail?
The other day I was two cars behind a stalled pickup at a stop sign. The truck in front of me started backing up to go around the dead vehicle. He was backing up quickly, so I honked my horn to let him know I was there. His lovely lady passenger leaned out her window and flipped me off!
Nice. It got me thinking. You know, I have never in my life flipped someone the bird. Never. Not when I was a teenager, not as an adult. I seem to be missing the rude gesture gene. Or maybe I just know too many rude words and would rather use them :-)
When is the last time you gave someone the finger or been a recipient of this universal gesture?
Fishwife says, “Letterman is fading fast. Can’t hold a candle to Conan and Jay.” http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/2009/jun/12/did-lettermans-palin-joke-go-too-far/#comments
Palin tempest in a teapot aside, I agree. I used to adore Letterman. He kept me company on many nights when I was up with babies but when compared to Conan or Colbert his schtick seems old and tired. Or is it just me?
At As The Lake Churns, blogmistress Pecky Cox calls this photo of a young girl on the shore of Priest Lake: “Princess At Hill’s Beach.”
Item: Did Letterman go too far with Willow Palin joke/Los Angeles Times
More Info: However, Monday’s show has drawn criticism from both sides of the aisle for a joke made about Sarah Palin’s 14-year-old daughter, Willow. During his opening monologue, Letterman poked fun at Sarah and Willow’s recent weekend outing to a Yankees game, joking that, “during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez.” The joke is a reference to Sarah Palin’s other daughter, Bristol, whose unwed pregnancy was made a focal point of the 2008 presidential elections. Despite the numerous jokes made about Sarah Palin during her campaign, comedians generally avoided making jokes about her children. Public figures may be fair game, but children of politicians are usually considered off-limits.
Question: What did you think? Did Letterman cross the line?
This BBQ is going to be great, BTW. I am doing my spin on a Chateau Briand with a nice sauce (which I perfected tonight), and I’ll have a couple of surprise side dishes. Others HBO bloggers are cooking as well. MIA is grilling a leg of lamb. Taryn’s step father is doing chicken. Phil is doing his “War on Terror” ribs. Kerri Thoreson is doing a proven cook-off winner, which I suspect may also be ribs, and I think KeithinCd’a is going to lay some of his killer tri-tips on us. AND THEN Herb has already put up a ton of his famous potato salad. Florine has a killer roasted veggie dish. Taryn’s Grandma will make her famous Deviled Eggs, and Geez, I know I am missing something here, but you picture/Bent/Bent’s Beer Garden. More on Taryn A Hecker Photography & Bent’s Beer Garden’s Inaugural Summer Cook off June 20 here.
Question: Do you plan to join the Merry Hucksters for the Taryn A. Hecker Photography & Bent’s Beer Garden’s Inaugaral Summer Cook Off?
New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez kicks his gum midway through the seventh inning after hitting a two run double against the Boston Red Sox during their MLB baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston Thursday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
In the HBO Poll Thursday, a majority of Merry Hucksters — 44 of 79 or 56% — said they oppose a citywide ban on fireworks like the one that’s now in place in Spokane. Thirty-four of 79, or 43%, voted in favor of such a ban in Coeur d’Alene, or Post Falls, or Sandpoint. Only one Merry Huckster sat on the fence and voted “Dunno.”
Cis/Simple Mind: What is it about magazines? Why do we allow them to stack up. I mean to get 
around to them … but there they are.The first one with the table..those are the onesI mean to get to right away. There is Gardening,Backyard, Newsweek, Time, and Consumer Report.Why I am so behind in my Consumer Report, I don’t know.Then there is the two books in there and some other stuff … Papers, Inlander, AARP. The other one on the foot stool is raining day reading. There is a lot of Smithsonian, and a few books, They have been there for a year or two.
Question: Which magazines do you receive at home? Do you have difficulty discarding old ones?
Katrina/Notes On A Napkin: Maybe it’s the way I’m shaped (square), but before low-rise jeans 
came
along, I was a woman-without-country in the denim department. The
horrible jeans of the 80’s (designed by Gloria Vanderbilt and her ilk)
assumed that everyone had curvy hips and tiny, nipped-in waists, a
shape still celebrated in the present-day construction of Mom Jeans.
(And let’s face it–Mom Jeans are just 80’s jeans that have morphed a
bit to accommodate the ..ahem.. blossoming post-partum form.) The fact
is, some of us don’t have tiny, nipped-in waists, no matter what we
weigh. In that dark time, we had to choose between wearing trousers
that fit in the waist but flapped around the hips like a pair of
mountie pants, or jeans that fit the hips but pinched the body nearly
in half at the waist, leaving button and zipper impressions so deep
they could be cast in plaster. More: 10 Things I’m Probably Too Old For But Enjoy Anyway
Question: What is something you’re probably too old for but enjoy anyway?
Idaho Dad/A Family Runs Through It: Here’s yet another reason to avoid posting your family photos to a very public Internet site. A family from Missouri found themselves unwittingly selling wine and cheese as models in a European grocery store’s advertising display. You
might think this is an odd, isolated event, but I’ll bet it’s not. Just
remember, every time you post a photo to your blog or web site it
becomes available to the entire world to use as they please. I’ve
had a number of people ask permission to use my pictures on their
sites, in class presentations, and even in a local ski area’s brochure.
I’ve also found my photos in places I didn’t know about. So, be careful out there. You never know who might be looking, or borrowing, or stealing.
Question: How careful are you re: the photos and/or comments that you post on your blog or in the comments thread of a blog or other online site?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
In the news this evening, elderly racist James Von Brunn has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a Holocaust Museum guard Wednesday here. Study: New flu has been around for years in pigs here. Palins say ‘no way’ to Letterman invitation here. Senate votes to give FDA greater control over tobacco here. Cher’s daughter is changing her gender here. And the Wild Card remains in play …
“Anyone notice anything wrong about this picture?” asks Kootenai MPO. ”This was taken by KMPO’s Executive Director Glenn Miles at the Hayden Lake public boat launch last weekend. Oh well, maybe the sign, ‘No Parking Any Time,’ is there specifically so the sheriff has a place to park?”
Question: Should marine deputies observe parking regulations like this one, too?
Abby said she had to go to the bathroom. I escorted her to the stall and waited outside the 
door. We went to gather up the boys and right away they noticed Abby was chewing gum. They obviously know her better than me and were concerned where she got the gum. She told them she found it. After more questioning from her big brothers, we learned it was a chewed piece of gum that she found in the bathroom. The boys immediately took her to the bathroom and had her show them where she found it. I’m following as they took care of the mystery. When she opened the stall and pointed to the top of the container for dirty Kotex pads, the boys almost puked. I made Abby spit out the gum and I told her that she had just had a piece of gum in her mouth that was as dirty as it could get. Her reply was, “Well lets not worry about it NOW”/Frum Helen Back, Hauser Thoughts. Full post here.
Question: So what have your kids/grandkids done that turned your stomach?
In this Nov. 19, 2000, file photo, San Diego Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf rolls out of the pocket as he looks for a receiver in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos in Denver. Leaf passed for 311 yards in the Chargers 38-37 loss to the Broncos. Leaf’s lawyer says the indicted former NFL quarterback/WSU star will surrender on drug and burglary charges in Texas. AP story here. (AP Photo/Kevin Higley, File)
Men dressed in traditional Bavarian clothes stand in front of rowing boats tied at the banks of lake Staffelsee in Seehausen, southern Germany, earlier today. You write the cutline.
Top Cutlines
The Idaho State Laboratory confirmed H1N1 (swine) influenza Thursday in four of seven people who recently visited Bonners Ferry with an out-of-state church group. Three of the tests were negative. The group left the area Tuesday to return home after seeing a Bonners Ferry doctor for care over the weekend. Prudent responses to the illness by the group, doctor and the hotel in Ponderay at which the group stayed helped prevent or slow the virus’ spread among the local population. “People showed compassion and responsibility and the community came together in the right way after the illnesses were confirmed,” said Jeanne Bock, Panhandle Health District director. “We don’t know yet if the virus spread, but we know their responsible reaction kept any spread to a minimum’’/Cynthia Taggart, Panhandle Health District.
Citycouncilwoman Kerri T/OnLocation North Idaho posts: “I enjoy photographing urban wildlife here in North Idaho and have emassed quite a network of people who are quick to call me when something exciting is spotted in town. This morning was no exception when a black bear (that’s brown in color) made its way to White Pine Park on North Spokane Street just a few blocks from my house. It was interesting to see Idaho Fish & Game, Post Falls Police and Kootenai County Fire and Rescue quickly tranquilze and then safely lower the bear from a tree-top branch. HERE is an album of photos with captions of the event.”
HBO Numbers (for Wednesday, June 10): 9207/5483
A $10 garage sale fine has become a key piece of evidence in a misdemeanor hit-and-run 
accident earlier this year, according to a CPD Blue report. On Saturday, Ex-water department worker Terry Anderson thought the top section of a fire hydrant he spotted at a Third Street yard sale would look good in his garden. So he gave a slightly drunk fortysomething tenant a sawbuck and took it home. Where he discovered upon closer examination that it was a newer hydrant. In fact, it was part of the hydrant that had disappeared from the intersection of Foster and Government Way after a hit-and-run accident. The statute of limitations has run out on the accident. But the hydrant is worth more than $1600. So CPD Blue is now investigating the incident as a grand theft. And Terry was able to point out where the yard sale took place. Stay tuned.
Question: What’s your most interesting garage sale find in this year?
RE: Devil-worshipping sex offender now living in downtown Spokane/Sirens & Gavels
As an official spokesperson for the legal Church of Satan I challenge Mr. Schertz’s allegation 
that he is a member in good standing with our organization. While it is possible that he registered under a different name, he most assuredly did not mention his legal status which would have voided his membership. The Church of Satan’s view on sexuality, our appreciation of sexual freedom for consenting adults demands that we are even more strongly against anyone who abuses others sexually. There is nothing weaker, more cowardly, more irresponsible and utterly disgusting than a sex offender. Mr. Schertz would do well to remember that Satanists do not believe in forgiveness, and we have none for him/Magistra Ygraine, Church of Satan. Full comment below.
Question: Magistra Ygraine’s comment appeared below Meghann Cuniff’s post re: Schertz on Sirens & Gavels. What do you make of it?
Should we be pleased
or we be sad
to have more czars
than Russia had?
The Bard Of Sherman Avenue
Dead frogs lay on the shoulder of Louisiana Highway 315 in Dularge, La., today, after a car, pictured, crashed into a pick up truck, that was driven by a man who had been frog hunting earlier in the day. Both drivers were transported with minor injuries. (AP Photo/The Houma Courier, Matt Stamey)
Question: Have you ever eaten frog legs?
It seems there is no shortage of vampire-related entertainment these days. For the most part, I am not a fan of the growing number of movies, television shows or books out there related to the blood sucking creatures, but at the recommendation of several people, I checked out the “True Blood” HBO series, which is about the coexistence of vampires and humans in small-town Louisiana. In this world, vampires don’t hide their existence, and most avoid killing people by drinking synthetic blood called “Tru Blood”/Omie Drawhorn, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here.
Question: Which is your favorite celluloid monster of choice?
Being a reporter may have something to do with my feeling obsolete, but this particular spell of 
crotchety-ness was brought on by President Obama’s announcement Tuesday that he favors a pay-as-you-go or “paygo” spending philosophy. The plan would require Congress to pay for new programs by cutting expenses or by raising new revenue, rather than by adding debt. I surely don’t fault that notion, but I’m confused how someone can talk about paying as we go less than four months after proposing a $3.6 trillion federal budget that includes a $1.3 trillion deficit - second only to this year’s $1.8 trillion shortfall as the largest deficit in U.S. history. How do those two ideas come out of the same mouth? I don’t understand that. I don’t think Obama is a bad or stupid person, but I don’t understand how he can describe his budget as “a new era of responsibility”/William L. Spence, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: What makes you crotchety?
What struck me about my conversation with Hess (right) yesterday was his consistency. What 
he said Wednesday matched what he’d said in conversations we had when I was the schools reporter in North Idaho: he hates guns and wants to create change for the racist movement through civic action, not violence. However, it should be noted that a national hate watch group has documentation of Hess being arrested at an anti-immigration rally in California for burning a Mexican flag. Hess lost a bid for the North Idaho College Board of Trustees in fall 2006, then signed up for the school paper as a student in a story you can read here. He quit when the staff prohibited him from calling illegal immigrants “illegal aliens.” Read a story on that here. The story on his candidacy is available here/Meghann M. Cuniff, SR Sirens & Gavels. More here.
Lewiston police officers make their way through a breezeway of a home west of Albertsons grocery store looking for a pharmacy robbery suspect Wednesday. (AP Photo/Lewiston Tribune, Kyle Mills)
Charlie: Stopped at “Hamburger Heaven”, Hwy. 53 in Rathdrum and on their sign board it said “Going out of business.” Looks like the end of the month for them, we will miss them.
OrangeTV:
First was it was shock, then came the tears. Now the sadness turns to anger. Burger Heaven going out of business?! The very place I got banned from town over after declaring it the only real reason to visit Rathdrum? The place I had a near religious experience at with a greasy cheeseburger and fries? The only place I have ever actually referred to as “the best burgers in North Idaho”? How dare they?! Thanks, for ruining my day, Burger Creeps, hope you go to Burger Hell for abandoning us!
Question: Which former burger joint do you miss most?
Several times a week I drive past a memorial to Andrew Rosell. The red floral remembrance on 
the corner of Magnesium Road and Nevada Street marks the place where the 16-year-old was struck and killed by a city recycling truck. It’s been two years since the accident, but the silent tribute offers evidence that Rosell is deeply missed. I remember his death vividly, because he attended the same high school as my sons, and the news of his passing shook his classmates. Teenagers often feel invincible. Death in a crosswalk on a beautiful spring day seems impossible. Yet in an instant, a family was robbed of a son, a brother, a grandson. Why?/Cindy Hval, SR Voices. More here.
Question: What unanswered “why” have you made peace with?
A Coeur d’Alene woman told police this week that she awoke at the Holiday Motel on Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive May 31 to find a man looking at her through the partially open blinds. She was upset because she sleeps in the nude and was partially uncovered. She said she opened the door and yelled at the man as he ran across the motel parking lot. Earlier in the night, someone took her husband’s cell phone while it was recharging near their unlocked motel room door. Later, she contacted Cricket to cancel the cell phone service after learning from girlfriends listed on the phone that they’d received obscene messages and stored photos.
Craig Walker, left, and Mark Rhodes of Idaho Fish and Game carry a tranquilized black bear (brown in color) to a waiting trailer Thursday in White Pine Park in Post Falls. The bear, estimated to be 150 lbs., was up a tree in the middle of the park. Fish and Game officers tranquilized the bear, then went up on a fire ladder to help the bear down from the tangle of branches where it fell after being shot with a dart. The bear will be released in the woods after it wakes up in 30-45 minutes, said Walker. (Jesse Tinsley/SR)
At 5 p.m. Wednesday (first reported on PM Scanner Traffic here), the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department responded to a grass fire in a field which threatened a boat trailer in the 100 block of Hattie Ave. The fire department and neighbors contained the fire to a 1/10th of an acre. The city fire investigators discovered the remains of an illegal firework at the area of fire origin/Coeur d’Alene Today. More here.
Question: Should the city of Coeur d’Alene follow other towns (including Spokane, I believe) in banning all fireworks except those used for public display?
Washington police investigator George Klein Jr. examines bullet strikes in one of the doors of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington this morning, a day after a shooting left a security officer dead and the gunman wounded. (Fox News: Von Brunn had been growing more hateful, desperate here.) (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
In April, I wrote an editorial saying Idahoans — including our elected officials — should move 
proactively and say that a new Aryan Nations group does not speak for all Idahoans. I was quickly challenged by readers who reminded me of an editorial I wrote shortly after the November presidential election. In that editorial, I explained that the paper does not and will not cover isolated and unsubstantiated racist threats and statements. I guess the line I’m drawing here — and not very well — comes down to the presence of an organized movement. If one person or a few people espouse racism, is it news? If a small group is trying to recruit members to their cause, does that constitute a movement? And what constitutes an “organized movement?” A few distributed leaflets? A parade float? This isn’t a Rotary club; it’s hard to get a gauge on membership numbers/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: You be the editor. How would you cover white supremacists in North Idaho?
Item: Elk farmer shoots grizzly in N. Idaho: Man near Rose Lake says he mistook endangered animal for black bear/Becky Kramer, SR
More Info: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service is investigating the shooting of a grizzly bear near Rose Lake. The 300-pound male grizzly was shot dead late Sunday by the operator of an elk farm who told game officers that he mistook the grizzly for a black bear. “He said the bear had killed one of his elk. … He was looking to protect the rest of his herd,” said Chip Corsi, regional supervisor for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. “Rose Lake is not a place here you’d expect to see a grizzly bear.”
Question: Ah, am I the only one that’s nervous that a grizzly bear was roaming around Rose Lake (about 25 miles east of Coeur d’Alene)?
Item: Hayden man: Suspected museum gunman angry, violent: James W. von Brunn briefly resided in Hayden/Meghann M. Cuniff, SR
More Info: The man accused of gunning down a security guard at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday arrived in North Idaho more than four years ago eager to meet others with an anti-government agenda, an acquaintance said. But James W. von Brunn, 88, seemed obsessed with violence, angry about a stay in federal prison and fixated on guns, said Stan Hess, a Hayden resident since 2003. “He had some very bitter arguments about a lot of things because of the way he looked at the world,” Hess said Wednesday.
Question: Is it fair to tie Von Brunn to Hayden, if he lived in the area for only a few days before being kicked out of his temporary home?
Charles Brown sits in his car at Labor Ready job service in Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday. He is from Boundary County and living in his car while trying to find work. More here. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
Question: Do you think Coeur d’Alene has a significant homelessness problem?
In the HBO Poll Wednesday, 46 of 72 (64%) said area media should report almost all activity involving white supremacists, including leaflet distribution. Twenty voters (28%) said the media shouldn’t. Another six (8%) didn’t know what the media should do in this matter.
The greatest college basketball player stat-wise ever, Pistol Pete Maravich, did not translate
into a great NBA player. Same is true with many great college football players. You see this in youth sports too, even at very young ages. My daughter plays AAU ball, and there is a girl on her team that is not real great right now, but I predict will become dominant at some point and will play college athletics. Part of that is blood lines that I know about, but you can see it in her body, her occasional fluid movements that transcend the others, and things like that. Morrison suffered an injury, so give him a bit more time. Reddick has no real excuse.
Question: Were you a decent athlete as a kid? Or a late bloomer?
Zelda Krup: It’s
pathetic how Hess from Hayden is trying to come across as the sensible one. I’m just smacking my head — wow, man, it’s really all relative, isn’t it? We’ve got the lunatic fringe diagnosing each other, trying to label themselves as being slightly saner than the ultra-lunatics. “That guy over there — he’s the REAL nut job.” Meanwhile, in St. Louis, the arch is slumping a bit. The shooter was a 1943 graduate of Washington University. That’s lamentable, as is this whole sorry situation.
Question: Have you ever lived around a “real nut job”?
Chatterbox: No tats. But when my sister & I were in our late teens, we begged and pleaded
with Mom to allow us to get our ears pierced. She denied our request for most of the summer. When she was a teen the only women with pierced ears were “ladies of the evening” (she used another term). Finally after 2 months, she relented. But made us promise to never wear “dangling” earrings, for fear we would tear our earlobes. I immediately bought a pair of tiny gold hoops. She went ballistic … but I wear them whenever I go to visit. No torn earlobes yet and it’s been 35 years.
Question: When did you get your ears pierced?
Nick Anderson/Houston Chronicle
Today is the 161st day of 2009. There are 204 days left in the year. On this day in history: In 1935, Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron, Ohio. In 2004, Singer-musician Ray Charles, known for such hits as “What’d I Say,” “Georgia on My Mind” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” died in Beverly Hills, Calif., at age 73. Today, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal turns 38. In the news this afternoon, Rev. Jeremiah Wright says he doesn’t regret severed ties with President Barack Obama here. And the Hump Day Wild Card is in play …
Earlier this spring, Donald Trump came to the aid of embattled Miss California USA in the midst of a hubbub re: a gay marriage comment and the discovery that she’d posed topless for photos. Earlier today, he issued a statement firing her, claiming continued breach of contract issues. You can read about it here and here.
Meghann Cuniff cell-phoned HBO Central just now to say that suspected Holocaust Museum shooter James Von Brunn lived with Stan Hess (now of the Grouse Meadows subdivision/Hayden) for a brief period. Hess, as you may recall, ran for the Coeur d’Alene School Board and North Idaho College Trustee Board. He opposed NIC Trustee/CPD Blue spokeswoman Christie Wood in one of those races. Meghann will have the story for you later tonight. Previous HBO coverage here.
JeanieSpokane: I
just got back from strolling through downtown - the shot for my anemia must be working. Big Hip Hooray on that one. Passed several street musicians on the walk. Two old guys playing brass (trombone and tuba, I think) - not really very good. And then right across the street two middle-aged guys playing bad-ass guitar and singing and quite well. Then the next block, a young guy by himself, playing excellent guitar. I love Spokane in the summer and the musicians scattered all around.
Question: Would you enjoy street musicians, too? Would you like to see them hanging out in downtown Coeur d’Alene and along the waterfront during the summer?
“This poodle looked right at home in the passenger seat of a flag-decorated truck,” posts Councilwoman KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho.
Comedian Stephen Colbert, from the Comedy Central television program gets a military style haircut from General Raymond Odierno, Commander of the Multinational Corps, Iraq, during the taping the first of four shows at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/ Steve Manuel, HO)
Top Cutlines:
I waited until I was 38 to get my very first tat. That would be about 11 years ago. After my 
husband beat me to the punch and got one before me, I finally sucked it up and did the deed (oh, and did I mention a lifelong phobia of anything involving needles? Yeah…along with societal disapproval, the needle thing was a bit of a disincentive) The thing was, I couldn’t let him continue to taunt me that he was braver than I. I picked a nice generic piece of flash off of the wall. It was/is a very attractive bird that I have since seen on at least a couple of other people. Not that I was ever one of those gals who freaks out if some other woman shows up at the office Christmas bash in the same outfit, but ink is just more….personal/Liz Arakelian, My Life’s A Freak Show. More here.
Question: Do you have a tattoo? What kind is it?
Frum Helen Back/Hauser Thoughts invites Merry Hucksters to take a shark break. She also provides these instructions: “The fish follows your mouse, but there’s more. This is amazing, if you click on the extreme right hand column you can change the scene of the background. There are some really beautiful ones. By clicking on the extreme left hand column you can change the type of fish, it’s relaxing to watch them swim.” Ready? Click here.
I never held to the dream, as shown in David Horsey’s cartoon (see link), of making gunny 
sacks full of money writing for Community Comment. Not hardly in an age when real journalists, those who have made their living writing each day, are standing out on the street peering in the windows of America’s newsrooms on unemployment. Not when bastions of literacy such as The Rocky Mountain News, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and so many others have already closed their doors for good, leaving some of the best writers in America looking for work/David Laird, Community Comment. More here.
Question (from Community Comment): Writing an opinion is hardly the same as writing news journalism, and thus, writing a Blog is not the same as being a journalist. Agree or disagree?
Item: Lone gunman kills security guard at Holocaust Museum in Washington/CNN.com. More coverage here
A dark chapter in North Idaho history re-opened Wednesday in Washington, DC. Holocaust 
Museum shooting suspect James Von Brunn (pictured) is not only a fervent racist with Neo-Nazis ties but once lived in Hayden as well. Von Brunn, 88, is the shooting suspect in the Holocaust Museum. He allegedly shot and killed a guard at the museum before he was shot and injured by other guards and taken into custody. Authorities say he is in critical condition. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which helped bring down the North Idaho-based Aryan Nations in a civil suit which bankrupted that organization, identified Von Brunn as having a long history of “associations with prominent neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers”/KXLY. More here. And: SR story here. And: Washington Post story on Von Brunn.
Question: How will this national story affect North Idaho’s attempt to rid itself of the Aryan Nations shadow?
In this photo provided by the subject and taken in Dec. of 2006, Gary Strader is seen with his dog and horse in Glendive, Montana. Strader, a former professional hunter for the U.S. government claims in a whistleblower complaint he was fired in retaliation for reporting that two co-workers illegally shot two mountain lions from an airplane in northeast Nevada. (AP Photo/Gary Strader) Question: Do you have a positive/negative view of whistleblowers?
How you know it’s going to be a bad day (by CindyH):
Question: How do you know when you’re going to have a bad day?
Two weeks ago, the California Supreme Court upheld the voter-approved constitutional ban on 
gay marriage. That same day, many miles away in Moscow, a small band of protesters held a demonstration to protest the “hate” against the gay and lesbian community. While I agree with the principle of granting gay and lesbian couples the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts, I can’t support calling it “marriage.” Why? Because the discussion should be focused on equal access to the creation of a contract between two consenting adults who want certain protections with regard to personal and financial decisions/Henry Johnston, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here.
Question: Do you agree/disagree with Digger that gay activist should focus on civil unions rather than marriage?
Some guy in Turkey won’t leave me alone. He’s been writing me e-mails - in Turkish - looking for investors in a get-rich-quick scheme that I don’t understand because I can’t read Turkish. How do I know it’s a get-rich-quick scheme? Because in his messages, dollar signs outnumber the 29 letters of the Turkish alphabet 2-to-1. Most of us, of course, routinely receive e-mails from folks in Nigeria requesting our credit card numbers so the process of claiming a large inheritance can be initiated. Or from somebody in Russia seeking investors in a diamond mine. But who are these people? More importantly, are there actually idiots who send them money?/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. More here.
Question: I receive a “Nigerian” scam-mail almost every day. How about you?
Swallowtail butterflies swarm along the Columbia River near Northport Friday. (Jesse Tinsley/SR)
In this October 2008 AP file photo, Orlando Magic guard J.J. Redick (7) drives around Charlotte Bobcats forward Adam Morrison (35) during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game in Orlando, Fla. Both college stars have floundered in the NBA. Story here.
Question: Are you surprised that ex-Zags star Adam Morrison and ex-Duke star J.J. Redick have struggled in the NBA? Why do you think they’ve struggled?
A Berry Picker e-mails re: the leaflet above: “My children found a plastic ziploc bag containing a rock and the attached flier. Are there others reporting any Aryan flier drops in CDA? I live off of 15th, north of Timothy Lane and south of Dalton Avenue.”
Question: Alison Boggs tells me that this is at least the 5th leaflet toss by the new Aryans in the area — and at least the 3rd time they’ve used this leaflet. The S-R isn’t going to cover this story, figuring that these wannabes are simply seeking publicity. Should Huckleberries Online have reported this event today?
According to the Idaho State Journal - Amber Koger and Jeri Underwood say they didn’t get the 
Lava Hot Springs Pool advertised family admission price. “What made me mad is that their definition leaves out a lot of families. What you’re saying is that because we’re gay, we’re not a family.” — Amber Koger. “We support them, we feed them, we love them, we put them to bed every night. We are a family in every way.” — Jeri Underwood. Koger is the aunt of the three kids, and after a divorce - she and her partner were awarded custody of the children from Health and Welfare — Maggie O’Mara, KTVB. More here. H/T: TreasuredValley.com.
Question (from KTVB’s O’Mara): So, what is the definition of a family anyway?
Over the last several weeks, especially during the legislative session, there has been 
considerable coverage of the tough decisions’ facing administrators at the Moscow school. We’ve all read about the terrible, horrendously ruinous budget cutting required at the austere institution. We know that thanks to the extensive reporting about the situation. And, thanks to more reporting, we learned something else about the University of Idaho budget. We learned the school has $112,500 to hire a Chief Inspiration Officer. No, we did not make that up. Well, except the part about hiring’ the Chief Inspiration Officer. What actually happened is the University of Idaho spent $112,500 for a part-time Chief Inspiration Officer. A really, really part-time Chief Inspiration Officer. As in the lady comes to Moscow less than two weeks a month for her pay/Dan Hammes, St. Maries Gazette Record. More here.
Question: UI Provost Doug Baker defended the hiring of a chief inspiration officer by saying she is “ … helping us reshape our culture.” Feel free to respond to Provost Baker.
In this 2007 AP file photo, Erik Espinoza, right, and Anders Miller, center, both of Pike Place Fish Market, look on as J.J. Swanton, left, throws a fish in the salmon-tossing contest held in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Pike Place Market in Seattle. Now, PETA, which believes that tossing dead fish is similar to tossing dead kittens, is pressuring the American Veterinary Medicine Association to call off a fish-tossing demonstration that was suppose to open its July 10 convention in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File) Question: Do you agree with PETA that tossing fish at the Pike Place Market in Seattle is equivalent to tossing dead kittens — and should be stopped?
Item: Kroc membership doubles in 3 weeks: Center nets another 6000 members/Tom Hasslinger, Cda Press
More Info: 12,000. And counting. The Salvation Army’s new Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center is making good on its promise to be a destination the whole community can enjoy. Doubling its membership total from three weeks ago, the $38 million mega-recreation center off Golf Course Road in Coeur d’Alene boasts 12,000 members — eight times the number of people it originally expected to join.
Question: So when can we officially tell the naysayers who fought so hard to stop this project (you know who you are): I told you so?
Item: Riverside extension may bear MLK name/Jonathan Brunt, SR
More Info: After nearly 20 years of discussions and debate, Spokane finally might name a street after the nation’s most prominent civil rights leader. The Spokane Plan Commission today will discuss a proposal to name a new stretch of Riverside Avenue after Martin Luther King Jr. “It’s time that we have something to honor a great American,” said Happy Watkins, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church. “We had to wait for the right time and the right moment.”
Question: Should Spokane name a street in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.? Would you like to see a street named after MLK in bigger North Idaho communities like Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, or Sandpoint?
In this April 1999 photo by Kathy Plonka, Rober’s Ice Cream & Burgers was a hopping place as well as a summer institution. Now, Mark Randolph, a former executive chef, has bought Roger’s. He said he’s planning no big changes to the drive-in spot at 13th Street and Sherman Avenue, although he might add a couple of burgers to the menu. Alison Boggs’ story here.
In the HBO Poll Tuesday, 50 of 91 respondents (55%) said they supported the Bible being taught as literature in elective courses at Idaho public schools. Thirty-eight (42%) opposed the idea. And three (3%) weren’t sure.
HappyXDopey: When the wife and I were looking for a new house last year, we chacked the 
list. We found a house that we loved, but a sex offender was living across the street…which worried us for obvious reasons (two small kids, wife at home alone since I regularly work nights). However, the house and location were perfect so we took the risk. I know from experience that such people generally have fairly unstable living conditions for a number of reasons and, seeing as the individual was renting, I decided to hope he would move. Approximately a month and a half after we moved in, he moved away.
Question: How far away from your home does the nearest sex offender live (sex offender locator here)?
You took the words right out of my mouth, Spokelooneh. If the auto-buying experience were fun 
instead of a carnival side show packed with grifters, I wouldn’t be driving a 10-year-old car. I detest buying cars because of all the B.S. that goes on. They spot you walking across the lot, they play those awful games such as “Does your wife tell you what to do?” and “I bet you’ve got some equity in that house of yours” and on and on. When I tried to buy a car in 1998 for cash, the sales manager told me I was crazy to ask for such a low price. So I walked off the lot. He called me later and said he could match my price but I got the greatest satisfaction telling him I had already bought it somewhere else. I didn’t want a shakedown/Zelda Krup. Full comment below.
Question: Do you mind dealing with car salesmen?
But
I digress. Know who bugs me beyond discussion? cell phone guys. How come it take 3 hours to buy a cell phone? I need a new cell phone desperately yet cannot summon the strength to drop by Sprint. can’t do it. CANNOT DO IT. My son used to take care of this pesky detail of my life for me, bless his baby heart, but now lives inconvenient to me. arrrrrrgh. I need a new cell phone but this one will have to do until something breaks. I hate those guys. (wincing).
Question: Which type of worker in customer service bugs you most?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
Izzit me, or does it seem as though several Hucksters are suffering health problems? Earlier this afternoon, I published an e-mail from Marmitetoasty describing her most recent bout with major knee surgery here. In a post last Wednesday, JeanieS/Nuts & Nonsense provided a second update re: her battle with kidney failure here. In the comments thread this afternoon, Chatterbox tells a bit about herself after undergoing chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer: “I’ve lost my hair from chemo. My eyebrows and eyelashes are very thin. I’ve also lost some weight. I have a few more worry lines than I did at this time last year.” Please keep all three of these fine women in your thoughts and prayers as they go through their hard times. I’m sure they’d appreciate your notes, too. Now, to replay the Wild Card …
Mark Randolph, new owner of Roger’s Ice Cream in Coeur d’Alene, talked about his plans for the downtown icon on Tuesday. Alison Boggs will provide the story in the morning SR. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
Question: Which flavor of ice cream is your favorite?
I
absolutely hate the dysfunctional erection ads for Vialis and Viagra and any other name out there. I feel dirty watching them - there is absolutely nothing left to the imagination. Like the shot of the backside of the lady as the sexually happy couple are walking away from the camera. All she needs is a target. “It goes here.” Most of the annoying ads are so annoying that you can’t remember what the product is that they were advertising. Give me the baby e*trade commercials any day - those are funny!
Question: We discussed which TV ads drive us up a wall. Now, how tell fellow Hucksters which ad(s) you like best?
Item: Honking horn not constitutionally protected/Seattle Times
More Info: As free-speech cases go, Monday’s ruling against Helen Immelt may not qualify as a landmark, but it does clear up one question: The prolonged honking of your car’s horn in front of your neighbor’s house in the wee hours of the morning isn’t a constitutionally protected First Amendment right. But if it’s not a free-speech landmark, it may be one in neighbor feuds: The honking was in retaliation for the neighbor’s complaint about Immelt’s chickens.
Question: When did you last honk your car horn — and why?
In this Feb. 9, 2008, file photo, Southern California coach Tim Floyd, second from left, is escorted off the court by forward O.J. Mayo (32) and John David Wicker, left, Washington State University associate athletic director, after being ejected, during an NCAA college basketball game against Washington State in Pullman, Wash. Floyd, a former University of Idaho coach, reportedly has resigned, one month after being accused of paying someone to help steer Mayo to the school. The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss., reported today that Floyd submitted his resignation to athletic director Mike Garrett. (AP Photo/Dean Hare, File)
Seems the first APhoto Of The Day offering was a flop. So let’s try this one: Taylor Treat is crowned the 2009 Miss Oklahoma by Kelsey Cartwright, Miss Oklahoma 2008, at the Miss Oklahoma pageant in Tulsa, Okla. Saturday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Brandi Simons)
Top Cutlines
At noon Saturday, the public is invited to attend a dedication ceremony for the Fallen Heroes Memorial Plaza located in Cherry Hill Park, north of I-90 on 15th Street. The memorial is a project sponsored by the Coeur d’Alene Rotary Club and the Coeur d’Alene Parks Foundation. These organizations as well as the Coeur d’Alene Police and Fire Department have participated in fundraising efforts to complete the Memorial Plaza/Coeur d’Alene Today. More here.
… that the Coeur d’Alene Press is going to adopt the same smaller Web size that the SR did at the beginning of the month. Coeur d’Alene Press subscribers can expect a smaller paper to hit their door step by July 1.
DFO: I got this e-mail a few minutes ago from HBO’s favority Brit, Marmitetoasty. Sounds like she made it through another harrowing knee surgery — and she’s banged up. But she’s also surviving in a bit better shape than last year. Feel free to post your notes to her here — and I’ll forward them. She said she plans to write to Cis, Stickman and others when she’s up to it. And: “tell Starr (Kelso) to get his arse over here and look after me LMFAO.”
But Im chipper and not poorly as such like last year, last year I was still flat on me back right proper poorly 6 days after the op, and here I am drugged up to me eyeballs at home … not really with it and in emense pain, but I had no choice but to come home and try and sort out some problems that arose whilst I was in hospital … Im not really even suppose to be out of hopsital until at least anotgher 7-10 days … but, they aint wearing my shoes … aint got anyone here to actually look after me lol … so I have to make the best of a bad thing … Full e-mail here.
Funerals like that are like reunions, and people were standing in amazement all over the facility as they realized out loud who that face belonged to or how much someone had changed in appearance over the years. Some people don’t do that. I was telling Bill this morning that Mary Verdal has stood still in time, it seems. She looks the same every time I see her, and I’ve known her for years. I told her she was aging well/Marianne Love, Slight Detour. More here.
Question: Are you aging well? In other words, would someone who hadn’t seen you in years be able to recognize you today?
My confidence in Erica (Curless) stems from seeing her in a variety of situations, always observing the same consistent traits: common sense, genuine warmth, sensitivity toward others, an enthusiastic focus toward perfection, raw talent and a sense of responsibility. I’ve seen this in her as a student, colleague and, most recently as our first-ever housesitter. Recently, Erica moved on in her life to a new career. For years, she has served as an outstanding reporter for the Spokesman-Review. Like so many in the economically ravaged newspaper business, she took a proactive approach toward her future and returned to school to pursue a new vocation. She’s now a certified equine massage therapist who also works with dogs/Marianne Love, River Journal (Love Notes). More here.
Question: Obviously, Erica pursued her dreams after she rolled snake eyes with the newspaper industry. If you were going to pursue a dream rather than cling to the security of a job in these troubled times, what would you like to do?
A devil-worshipping sex offender who recently moved to Spokane from Texas has registered at a new address in downtown Spokane. Danny “Triple 6” Walter Schertz, 61, is living at the New Washington apartments, 327 1/2 W. 2nd Ave., according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. He’s not under supervision and is not wanted by police. He’s classified as a level 3 sex offender, the classification considered most likely to reoffend, and is required to check in with authorities quarterly now that he has a permanent address. He’s due at the Sheriff’s Office in September/Meghann M. Cuniff, SR Sirens & Gavels. More here.
Question: Have you checked to see where the sex offenders in your area live?
Item: Best Places to Live 2009: U.S. News looked at areas with strong economies, low living costs, and plenty of fun things to do/US. News & World Report
More Info: Although often overlooked, Boise, Idaho, is a terrific destination for those looking to escape out West. With a high-desert climate of sunshine, clear skies, and four distinct seasons, this city of 200,000 makes a perfect base camp for exploring southwest Idaho’s dramatic panorama. Choose from the many nearby parks, which total some 2,700 acres, cast a fishing line into the Boise River, or head over to Boise State University for a Broncos football game.
Related: Lewiston, Idaho Falls, Pocatello rank in Outdoor Life’s Top 5 places to live
Question: Would you rather live in Boise, Lewiston, Idaho Falls, or Pocatello than the community in which you now do?
Local blogger Tom Forbes was quick to write a post about my last column regarding Moscow 
government being symbolically “egged.” He provided an analogy that I think is worthy of being published here, which is that “city government should be all about the “P’s” “Parking, police, paving, pets, permits, parks, pipes, parades, poop, potholes, public nuisances, and putting out fires.” I think that about sums up the proper role of city government and provides a baseline for the following challenge to the candidates running for Moscow city government this upcoming November/Henry Johnston, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here.
@Digger; can you e-mail a color mug shot to me?
Question: What non-P things should concern city government?
In this magazine cover image released by Rolling Stone, “American Idol,” runner-up Adam Lambert is shown on the cover of the June 25 issue, which hits newsstands on Friday. (AP Photo/Rolling Stone)
Question: What will become of “American Idol” runnerup Adam Lambert? Or: Do you still reading Rolling Stone mag?
Item: Starbucks double-charges 1M customers over Memorial Day weekend/King 5 News
More Info: If you bought coffee at Starbucks on Memorial Day Weekend, you may have been one of a million customers double-charged for your beverage. And you can’t be blamed for not noticing, because the charge came at the backend of the transaction, away from the store. Starbucks confirmed to NBC News that on Friday, May 22 and half of Saturday, May 23, up to a million customers were double-charged for their order when they used their debit or credit cards - Starbucks calling it a “settlement processing error.”
Question: Do you buy as much coffee from Starbucks and other coffee shops and huts as you used to do before the recession?
Item: Invasive species: It’s hobo spider season, but experts see no reason to panic/Allison Maier, Missoulian
More Info: Dr. Dan Pierce, an emergency physician at St. Patrick Hospital, said that of the 30 or so complaints of “spider bites” he hears a month, only about one every three years can actually be attributed to a spider. Usually, what people think are spider bites are actually other skin infections. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, there was no spider ever involved,” he said. And even if you are bitten by a hobo spider, he said, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get the bleeding, ulcerated lesions people are so afraid of. Even when a human is bitten by one of the spiders, the victim usually don’t feel anything, he said.
Question: Do hobo spiders make you nervous?
Motorists drive down U.S. Highway 21 as water soars dozens of feet into the air in the formation referred to as the “rooster tail” on Thursday at Lucky Peak Dam outside Boise. The unique water display occurs when excess water is diverted through the dam’s outlet slide gates before landing in the Boise River. (AP Photo/Idaho Press-Tribune, Charlie Litchfield)
I think Utah is going to give Los Angeles a serious challenge this year for the craziest drivers 
contest. As we were driving north on I-15 through Utah, we were driving about 80 (which was barely keeping up with traffic). An older Oldsmobile attempted to bully its way through traffic, weaving in and out, tailgating to get my wife to get her into the slow lane (where she did actually belong). As the Oldsmobile passed, doing about 90, I looked in to see if the driver was angry. No, she wasn’t angry—she was applying makeup while driving aggressively, looking in a compact mirror, instead of at the road or or the other cars/Clayton Cramer. More here.
Question: Which state do you believe has the worst drivers?
There are too many questions concerning the president meeting the constitutional 
requirements to hold that office. It is time to put all the rumors to rest since it is one of the many stories and actions causing serious public distrust in the current administration. The people are the government, and it is their right and duty to insure those in positions of power actually meet the required qualifications. In the case of President Barack Obama, there is a serious question as to whether he meets the citizenship requirements of the president of this country. This feeling is justified by the secrecy the president himself has put on his records of birth and schooling/Carl W. Stout, Bonner County Bee letters to the editor. More here. H/T: Dennis.
Related: A similar thread on A Matter Of Opinion has 215 comments here
Question: Do you know anyone who still questions the legitimacy of Barack Obama’s presidency, based on his place of birth?
Charles Seldon is the founder of the Idaho group, Our Godly American Heritage. He’s
working to bring the Bible into Idaho public high school classrooms, by getting
the issue put on a ballot initiative. You would then vote on it. If passed, an elective course in Idaho’s secondary schools would teach the
Bible, strictly as literature and its influence on history/Jen Wahl, 2News.TV. More here.
On the 11th, this week, my oldest son, Nate, will have been in eternity 3 months. It feels odd to 
measure something in eternity by using the chronological tick-tick-ticks of a clock/calendar … but it’s the best we can do on this side of The Veil. And so he is there … and the remaining members of my family are here. And we miss him. Tonight I watched the DVD of his Memorial Service. And wept. Grief is like that, I have learned. It is healthy and it hurts like Hell. And yet there is joy … So, I DO rejoice for Nate’s time in “timless-ness”. And I slowly move towards having one foot in this crazy world and one foot on that “golden shore”. Like someone owning a cabin in the mountains, I think often of “the other place” - all the while living and being “all here”/Dennis Mansfield. More here.
Question: Are you grieving the recent loss of a friend or family member?
A girl peers from her front gate as a U.S. Army soldier from A Co., 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment patrols in western Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo)
Question: Do you approve of Obama’s approach to the Middle East?
Item: ‘We the People’ rally Friday: Group to protest congressional spending/Brian Walker, Press
More Info: Tea time, says Ron Nilson, should be about over for those wanting to send a message to Washington, D.C., that they’re concerned about government spending. A local non-partisan grassroots group will hold a “We the People” rally on Friday from 5:30-8 p.m. at Q’emiln Park in Post Falls to kick off Flag Day weekend and piggyback onto a similar event on April 15 in Coeur d’Alene. “This isn’t a tea party; it’s a we party,” said Nilson, CEO of Ground Force Manufacturing who will speak on Friday. “A tea party was a great start and an opportunity for people to understand what this is.
Question: Would you like to see the Tea Partiers stick around and become a political force?
Item: No leads, no suspects in rapes, home invasions/Tom Hasslinger, CdA Press
More Info: No leads, no suspects, no new information. The Coeur d’Alene Police Department is continuing its investigation into a string of reported rapes and home invasions beginning late Thursday evening and continuing into Saturday morning, but officials remain uncertain whether any of the cases are related. “We don’t have any solid leads,” Sgt. Christie Wood, police spokeswoman, said Monday.
Question: Have you taken extra precautions at night around your home since the handful of rapes and break-ins were reported last week?
What began as a dream by some former hockey players to build an inside ice rink has evolved into an idea for a community center in Sandpoint. Trish Gannon/River Journal examines what has become of the Packer Centre idea in her latest monthly mag here. You can find Trish’s fine mag at the outlets here.
A staff member at the city-state’s Jurong Bird Park holds three baby Masked Lovebirds, a 3-week old, right, nibbling at a 4-day old, center, while a 3-day old, left, snuggles into his hand at the park on Tuesday in Singapore. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
There may be a reason that lectures from City Hall re: over-watering tend to fall on deaf ears. Most people believe they properly water their yards. In the HBO Poll Monday, 68% of the respondents said they water “about right,” while another 25% said they watered too little. Only 8% said they water too much.
Kage Mann: My sister came over to CDA from Seattle this past weekend and did some grocery
shopping at Winco,which is located in the Spokane Valley. She bought some food items in high bulk. Apparently, she has started her food storage and has stocked up.She told me that she expects the country to fall into a depression, just like the 1930’s or worse and is preparing for it. She then launched into how socialism is destroying our country. I told her that if she’s scared, I should be real scared myself. She happens to be at the top of the food chain income wise and is cutting way back on her spending,which is bad news for the economy if that’s the trend.
Question: Do you think the worst of the recession is over? Or we’re in a lull until the worst hits?
OTV: I enjoy watching a variety of Q6 programs. However, I’m going to block the damn channel
if they play their commercial with the “Right Now” song again. The jangly guitar, the metronome beat, the screechy vocals. Accompanied by video footage of the news crew standing in various Spokane locations looking rather moody and holding signs that read things like “We’re all about you” or whatever. At first I could sort of ignore it, but they play the heck out of that ad and the lame song gets stuck in a loop in my head and won’t stop. “I’m ready right now…now is the time…blah blah blah blah.” Argh!
Question: Which TV commercial bugs you most?
Nick Anderson/Houston Chronicle
On this day in history: Today is Monday, June 8, the 159th day of 2009. There are 206 days left in the year. In 632, the prophet Muhammad died in Medina. In 1966, a merger was announced between the National and American Football Leagues, to take effect in 1970. A year ago, the average price of regular gas crept up to $4 a gallon. “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams turns 52 today. In the news today, Obama is speeding stimulus spending to create, save 600,000 jobs here. And another Wild Card is in play …
Leroy Berry, 90 (right) gets a hug after receiving the Bronze Star at Bestland Retirement center in Coeur d’Alene earlier today.Some 64 years ago on Okinawa Berry of Cheney showed courage in the face of danger while serving with the U.S. Army’s 96th Infantry Division. Alison Boggs’ SR story here. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
Dad poured himself a brandy on the rocks, sat in the living room, and listened to Dinah 
Washington or Sarah Vaughn or Teresa Brewer and he went into a world of his own sentimentality. He was very sentimental about my mother. Numerous times he found ways to get me alone and he’d tell me, while drunk, how much he loved my mother and how he could never live without her, and would weep. He was sentimental about Christmas, about the USA, and about his family. My dad’s sentimental side surprised people sometimes because he so often was playing the role of being gruff or because his sense of humor. Dad’s heart was on his sleeve. I’m like my dad in this way, especially in private. I’m deeply nostalgic and tend to live parts of my life more romantically than logically. I learned it from Dad/Raymond Pert, Kellogg Bloggin’. More: Here are some things (dad) taught me.
Question: Are you sentimental? Or do you hide your emotions?
At Bay Views, Herb has been keeping track of Adventure Sports Week is in the books, an event similar to Ironman sans the publicity. International Triathlon contestants gathered at Farragut State Park for this extravaganza. When it’s all over, at the end of next week-end, 24 races will have been held. You can read about it here and here.
A bear cub, wearing a bird feeder on his head, runs to his mother. The bear cub in northwestern Wisconsin’s Burnett County was spotted near Grantsburg over Memorial Day weekend with the feeder stuck on its head. You write the cutline. Story here. (AP Photo/Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources via WQOW-TV)
Top Cutlines:
The lawn is lovely,
green and sleek,
but I must mow now
twice a week.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
A group visiting Bonner and Boundary counties from out of state includes one person with a 
confirmed case of H1N1 influenza and seven people with possible H1N1 flu. The group of more than 100 people has been active in communities in both counties since early June. A woman in her 20s with the group became ill last week and tested positive for the Influenza A virus. That test was sent to the Idaho State Laboratory in Boise, which confirmed Thursday the virus was Novel H1N1. Over the weekend, seven more group members tested positive for the Influenza A virus and their tests were sent to the state lab for confirmation of H1N1. Those results will be available by mid week/Cynthia Taggart, Panhandle Health District. More here.
Amid a National Public Radio feature story this morning about “hooking up”, a point was 
made about the rising average age of marriage. A sub-point also emerged: Idaho was listed as having, on average, the youngest married couples in the country. When we pulled the census stats on this and averaged marriage age for men and women, Idaho appeared to rank second (behind Utah) rather than first. (The average age at marriage in Idaho was 24.6 years for men and 22.8 for women, compared with the national average of 26.7 and 25.1.) The rundown of states by marriage age, though, does match up remarkably well against red-blue measures. After Utah and Idaho, two of the reddest states, is Oklahoma, also among the most crimson. The red of the low-age top 10: Arkansas, Kentucky, Alaska, Wyoming, Texas, Alabama and Tennessee. All were McCain states in 2008/Randy Stapilus, Ridenbaugh Press. More here.
Question: What do you make of this phenomenon — that couples marry younger in red states like Idaho and Utah?
In May, a series of losses hit the River Journal and, even more so, the staff at Keokee Publishing, with the deaths of three of our good friends:
- On Monday, May 4, Dennis Nicholls, who founded this publication you hold in your hands back in December of 1993, died in Noxon, Mont.
- On Wednesday, May 20, just a few hours after I had promised to return the next week with organic, black bean soup, Carole Eldridge died.
- On Friday, May 29, the big heart of Dick Wentz could take no more. Dick worked for Ducks Unlimited Magazine before moving to Sandpoint. Full column by Trish Gannon/River Journal here.
Question: Do you believe the old adage like Trish’s mother that tragedy comes in threes?
“Here we are taking in the view from a trail on Kamiak Butte, overlooking the Palouse farm country of Idaho and Washington,” posts Idaho Dad/A Family Runs Through It. “Far off in the distance is the college town of Moscow.” More here.
Question: When did you last go on a hike?
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, wearing a cast on her right foot, meets with Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., on Capitol Hill, in Washington today. Earlier, Sotomayor broke her ankle when she stumbled at La Guardia airport enroute to Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Question: Which bones in your body have you accidentally broken? How?
Item: 50 acres donated to CdA for preserve/AP
More Info: Three northern Idaho residents have donated 50 acres to the city of Coeur d’Alene to preserve as a waterfront walking area along Fernan Lake. Jim Elder, Pat Acuff and Doug Potter, of Fernan Lake, last week deeded the land that includes 1,000 feet of waterfront. “We wanted to preserve it for the public,” Elder told the Coeur d’Alene Press. “This was the best way to make sure it remained a huge asset for the community forever.”
Question: How important is this contribution to the greater Coeur d’Alene area?
Item: Court rejects challenge to ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’/AP
More Info: The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a challenge to the Pentagon policy forbidding gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, granting a request by the Obama administration. The court said it will not hear an appeal from former Army Capt. James Pietrangelo II, who was dismissed under the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The federal appeals court in Boston earlier threw out a lawsuit filed by Pietrangelo and 11 other veterans. He was the only member of that group who asked the high court to rule that the Clinton-era policy is unconstitutional.
Question: Do you agree with the court decision?
Candice Waite, of Nampa, and her children, from left, Jackson, 4, Micaela, 7, and Lizzy, 2, stand close to the baskets where homing pigeons were released to mark the start of the 3rd Annual Festival of Flight Saturday at the Caldwell Airport. (AP Photo/Idaho Press-Tribune, Greg Kreller)
Lynne: My odd phone call of the day: Can hospital refuse to treat you if you don’t have insurance and still owe them money from a previous visit?
Question: Anyone?
Brazil’s Navy sailors recover debris from the missing Air France jet at the Atlantic Ocean earlier today. A U.S. Navy team was flying to Brazil on Monday with high-tech underwater listening devices to help the search for the black boxes from an Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Fifteen more bodies have been found here. (AP Photo/Brazil’s Air Force)
Dad was kind of adamant when I turned eighteen/nineteen years old that I learn how, above all 
else, “to pace” myself, to quote him, when I started drinking beer. He never recommended moderation. He assumed that if I was going to spend a day or a night drinking beer, that it was not for any reason other than to get drunk. But, he told me again and again that I needed to “pace myself” and not drink like a “meat head”. He also reminded me constantly that “a lot of people think being a drunk is fun. It’s not. It’s hard work.” In other words, he knew that getting drunk always came at a cost, but the one thing he never did and would never allow me to do, was miss work, or, when I was in college, miss class, just because I felt lousy after a night of drinking/Raymond Pert, Kellogg Bloggin’. More here.
Question: Raymond Pert offers an excellent essay, as Father’s Day approaches, in which he details 10 things he learned from his late father. What is something your father taught you?
(In Hayden Wednesday) my girlfriend and I … witnessed some very strange objects in the sky. I 
have contacted all of my local press and broadcasters to see if anyone else has reported on this and to open up discussion. Here is our account: Over the course of about 4 hours I witnessed 5 separate sightings of the same type of UFO’s. My girlfriend saw them twice. 1st) 11:25 PM — Out of the western sky about 65 degrees above the horizon TWO shooting star like objects came out of nowhere flying parallel to one another about a pencil length apart. They began to bank slightly to the north and literally morphed into these sort of boomerang shaped, iridescent glowing reddish orange objects before they disappeared into the northern sky/Aaron Hudlemeyer, Hayden. Full letter to the editor below.
Question: Did anyone see a UFO in the Hayden area Wednesday? Have you ever seen a UFO? Do you believe in UFOs?
“Just about every weekend, now through Labor Day, North Idaho communities hold annual celebrations and parades,” posts Councilwoman KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho. “The first of the season is in Post Falls where a few thousand people turned out to enjoy seeing their friends and neighbors make their way down the main street of town. Small town parades give us all a glimpse of Americana, a Norman Rockwell portrait come to life. Post Falls Days Parade album here.”
DFO: You now can find a link to Kerri’s Main Street online column under the HBO Blogosphere heading in the right rail.
Question: Why do/don’t you attend local parades?
Trish Gannon: No. Even as a non-Christian (i.e., someone who doesn’t believe in the literal
truth of the Bible - you go, Herb!) however, I have often considered writing a column titled “The Rapture Can’t Come Soon Enough for Me!” Truthfully, it sure seems like it would be a win-win for all of us - Christians get to disappear in the middle of what they’re doing, and the rest of us get to enjoy that they’re gone. ;0) I haven’t written it, however, out of respect for the 9 self-professed Christians whom I actually respect for their faith and their beliefs (i.e., they’re not hypocrites and truly believe in what Jesus preached).
Question: Trish is referring to the belief held by many Christians that God will pull believers from the Earth in the blink of an eye in an event referred to as the Rapture. Do you think such an event would be a good thing for both Christians and non-Christians?
Item: Jury duty closes Meridian restaurant for one day: Restaurant owner says doing his civic duty could have destroyed his business/Brad Talbutt, Idaho Statesman
More Info: Rick Valenzuela opened his jury summons with dismay. When he arrived last week at the Ada County Courthouse, he told a judge that serving on a trial could jeopardize his business. Fourth District Judge Patrick Owen wasn’t swayed. He told Valenzuela he wouldn’t be excused from jury duty, even though serving the court meant Valenzuela wouldn’t be serving Philly cheesesteak sandwiches at Rick’s Press Room, his small Meridian restaurant. Valenzuela is the only chef in the restaurant, so the business was closed for lunch on Wednesday.
Hat Tip: Monday Morning Coffee/Treasured Valley
Question: Should the judicial system make exceptions for individuals like Valenzuela who face economic hardship if they are picked for a jury?
Item: Water conservation efforts save water and money/Water Superintendent Jim Markley. Coeur d’Alene Today
More Info: If your sprinklers are poorly adjusted and you are watering the street, you are paying for water without receiving any benefit. Watering during the heat of the day and when it is windy increases evaporation. You are paying for water that doesn’t moisten your lawn’s roots and again you are not getting the full benefit of the water you are buying. Evening or early morning watering is more efficient. Increased water demand creates a need for additional wells. The customers ultimately pay for the operation and maintenance of new facilities.
Question: Do you know whether or not you water your yard and garden properly? Do you care?
Brayden Godin, 6, displays a drawing he did last week. The drawing was part of counseling sessions that have been donated to the family after their story was featured in The Spokesman-Review. Brayden along with his three sisters from left, Keira, 9,Macaylee, 5 and Destiny, 8 are being raised by the great grandparents Shirley and Chuck Young of Coeur d’Alene. Donations for the family are now over $10,000. Story here. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
In a HBO Poll Friday, 47 of 92 respondents (51%) said that department heads and other top-level employees of the city of Coeur d’Alene are paid too much. Thirty-six of 92 (39%) said they weren’t paid too much. Nine of the 92 respondents weren’t sure. Meanwhile, in a weekend poll, 25 of 57 respondents (44%) said that the best hotdog in the country is Hebrew National. Ball Park dogs came in a distant second among the seven choices offered with 12 of 57 (or 21%).
Call it “sexting,” or just call it foolish. But the what-are-they-thinking act of sending revealing or suggestive photos over cell phones or other electronic equipment should not place a teenager on a state sex-offender registry. As police and prosecutors face an increasing number of sexting complaints, prosecutors are wrestling with how to handle cases. Possession of child pornography is one of the 20 felony sex crimes encompassed by Idaho’s sex offender registry. The photos, addresses and criminal histories of convicted sex offenders - adult and juvenile alike - appear at the Idaho State Police Web site. There, anyone can search for registered sex offenders by name or zip code, or get a map that pinpoints offenders living within a 1-, 3- or 5-mile radius/Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Should ‘sexting’ be treated as a felony, with offenders required to register as sex offenders?
The Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene school districts will participate in the federally funded child nutrition program by offering meals this summer. The meals are free to all children ages 1-18. Parents may purchase breakfast for $1 and lunch for $2. In Coeur d’Alene, breakfast will be served from 8-9 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Borah Elementary School, 632 Borah Ave.; Ramsey Elementary School, 1351 W. Kathleen Ave., and the Kindercenter located on the corner of Hayden Avenue and Government Way. Meals will be served weekdays from June 11 through Aug. 14, with exception of July 3/Coeur d’Alene Press. More here.
Question: Is it a school district’s role to serve meals to children during the summer?
Michael Ramirez/Investor’s Business Daily
On this day in history: in 1972, the musical “Grease” opened on Broadway. In 1998, James Byrd Jr., a 49-year-old African-American man, was chained to a pickup truck and dragged to his death in Jasper, Texas. In 2006, The U.S. Senate rejected a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Poet Nikki Giovanni turns 66 today. In the news today: Brazilian search crews found debris and the first two bodies from ill-fated Air France Flight 447 here. And the weekend Wild Card is back in play …
At 12:15 this morning, Coeur d’Alene Police responded to the Legends Parkway apartment complex off Golf Course Road for the report of a prowler. The 19YO female victim said she was alone in her residence asleep in bed when she realized a male had climbed into her bed and lay down next to her. The suspect attempted to fondle the victim. The victim said at first she was groggy and thought it was her boyfriend but as soon as she realized he was not she started screaming. The victim said the male fled her apartment. She described the male as 6’, thin build, reddish blond hair in a buzz cut, some scruffy facial hair, mid 20’s to early 30’s, possibly wearing shorts and a shirt. Detectives were called to the scene but it is yet to be determined if this incident is related to the current rape investigation that occurred on Friday morning/Sgt. Christie Wood, Coeur d’Alene Police news release.
Day-old robins ask for food from their nearby parent in their nest in a wreath at a home in Absarokee, Mont. Thursday. The migratory birds build their nests shortly after returning to their summer range, and the young hatch after two weeks of incubation by the mother, and leave the nest another two weeks after fledging. (AP Photo/The Billings Gazette, Casey Riffe)
Item: Obama to mark 65th D-Day anniversary in Normandy/Reuters
More Info: U.S. President Barack Obama travels to Normandy Saturday to mark the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings on beaches in northern France that led to the Allied victory over Nazi Germany. Residents in Normandy towns decked their streets in U.S. and French flags in preparation for Obama’s visit and posters welcoming Obama read “Yes, we ca(e)n,” a cross between Obama’s campaign slogan and the name of a local city, Caen. His expected presence has almost overshadowed the D-Day event, to the point that French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s failure to invite Britain’s Queen Elizabeth prompted accusations that he was trying to make space for himself next to Obama
Question: Are you well-versed in World War II history? What part of the war captures your attention most?
Years ago, at the Cd’A intersection where 3rd and 4th separate into one way streets, there used 
to be a beauty shop named “Salon de Chevaux.” In High School, I took four years of French. That place used to drive my classmates and I totally bananas. See, the French word for hair is “cheveux”, but whoever established the business didn’t bother to spell-check or whatever and used the word “chevaux” instead, which means “horses.” Salon of Horses. We prank called them frequently, asking how much would it cost for old Nelly the Mare to get a perm and mani-pedi. They seemed blissfully oblivious to the problem, but it couldn’t have helped much either, since they closed after just a few whinny-ful years in business. Not sure why it is that so many beauty shop owners feel the need to get overly clever or cute with the names of their establishments. My personal favorite is “Curl Up & Dye” over in Spokane. I’d like to take a moment to celebrate the 15 silliest Beauty Salon names in North Idaho, in no particular order/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. More here.
Question: Which Inland Northwest beauty salon do you think has the silliest name?
Kage Mann: … having a viable Israel in between all these other Arab and Islamic
countries helps to 
stabilize the region somewhat IMO.Even though it
might not seem that way. I am very concerned right now because, for
Israel to survive long term, they have to have Americas support and
Obama seems lukewarm to Israel.You watch, if Israel takes out a nuclear
plant in Iran, Obama will be out front condemning them, even though
their very survival might be at risk.Obama seems naive to me.What I’m
really afraid of is: Armageddon;the final war on earth.With Christ
coming down to save his people.A relative of mine talks on this alot.
Question: Do you believe that a literal Armageddon as described in Revelation will take place?
Gregor Samsa: Wow, having just spent two weekends in a row checking out the two casinos in the area, I can say there is no comparison between Northern Quest and the Coeur D’Alene Casinos. Northern Quest machines are dialed in so you can actually occasionally win some money. The CDA casino remains full of slot machines so incredibly dialed in to the house you might as well just hand your money over to the casino staff when you come in. Not sure if anyone’s ever compared pay outs per gambler but I can’t even imagine why anyone would gamble at the CDA Casino. For.suckers.
Question: Which casino do you consider superior — Northern Quest or Coeur d’Alene Bingo Casino?
It was inevitable that the brownshirts would come to Washington.
They certainly have a 
welcoming environment here. In California, after
the passage of Proposition 8, which defined marriage as a union between
one man and one woman and wrote that into that state’s constitution,
gay marriage advocates published the names and addresses of donors to
the “Yes on Proposition 8” campaign online and used Google maps to
provide directions to their homes. The obvious intent of this maneuver
was to punish and intimidate political opponents. The message: We know where you live. Well
guess what? The thugs are here, and they have inaugurated a similar
campaign of intimidation in Washington. The only difference is that
Washington’s gay marriage advocates are deploying the California
intimidation tactics preemptively. They have begun a campaign to
publicize the names and addresses of people who dare to sign a petition
for Referendum 71, an effort to overturn Washington’s recently passed
civil union law. The message: We know where you live/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: The Spokesman-Review Editorial Board believes that Referendum 71 opponents will hurt their cause by using this thinly disguised intimidation tactic. What do you think?
On this day in history: In 1752, Benjamin Franklin flew a kite for the first time to demonstrate that lightning is a form of electricity. In 1968, U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy was mortally shot in Los Angeles by Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy died early the next morning. In 1998, C-Span reported that Bob Hope had died. The report was false and had began with an inaccurate obituary on the Associated Press Web site. In 1934, TV journalist Bill Moyers in Hugo, Okla. Today is World Environment Day. In the news today: A Gallup Poll shows that former veep Dick Cheney is slightly more popular than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi here. And your Wild Card is in play …
To close the work week, let’s go back to Pecky Cox’s As The Lake Churns one more time for a wakeboarded who’s enjoying his sport at Priest Lake. The photo was provided to Pecky by startwakeboarding.com. And: SR’s Today In Photos.
At A Butterfly Moment, Jen lists 10 places she’s been this week:
1. in the presence of greatness
2. at the slowest restaurant on the face of the earth
3. to Costco…twice
4. at the center of the universe
5. 900 feet underground in a gold mine
6. in the oldest standing building in Idaho
7. panning for gold
8. hiking on Tubbs Hill
9. to Stickman’s house
10. at peace
Question: Where have you been this week?
Valley View Elementary kindergartener Emily Palmer smiles at her parents during the end of the year celebration at her school in Bonners Ferry on Wednesday. Bonners Ferry school observe a four-day school week as a way of dealing with financial shortfalls. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
Melanie Angelillo, top, Madyson Sower, middle, and Lisa Marino, bottom, wait in a tree after their raft got hung up on the Boise River near the Julia Davis band shell on Thursday in Boise, Idaho. Members of the Boise Fire Department’s dive team rescued the trio, who had no major injuries. You write the cutline. Story here. (AP Photo/The Idaho Statesman, Joe Jaszewski)
Top Cutlines:
At Priest Lake, Pecky Cox was blogging when she heard a voice, crying loudly from the lake, 
“Help!” So she grabbed her binoculars and ran down to the waterfront. Nothing. Then, the voice cried again: “Help!” This time, she jumped on her Jetski and headed toward the only two boats she saw on the water — tiny ones. She kicked herself on the way out that she hadn’t grabbed her lifejacket. When she got to the two boats, she asked if everyone was okay. And was surprised by the answer from a guy who ID’d himself as Jim: “Yes, we were just kidding. We ran out of beer.” He was with a woman named Susan. E-mails Pecky: “I felt sooo stupid. But I would run and go again at first call for help.”
Coeur d’Alene police detectives are investigating an attempted burglary early this morning that 
could be connected to a rape a few blocks away. An older female who lives in the 1100 block of Pennsylvania Avenue reported that she was watching TV at about 12:39 a.m. when she walked into the kitchen, where she saw the legs of a male climbing through her kitchen window. The prospective burglar fled when she yelled for her husband who was sleeping in the next room. At 12:42 am the police department received the report of a prowler in the 700 block of N. 11th Street. This area is very close to the location of the attempted burglary. The female victim reported she saw a male peaking through her window. Officers responded and were unable to locate the male. A 26YO female was raped in the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue about 2 a.m. And a 52YO female was reportedly raped near the Ponderosa Golf Course, at the end of Harrison about 8:30 p.m. Thursday.
The Idaho State Laboratory confirmed the fourth and fifth cases of Novel H1N1 (swine) influenza in the five northern counties this week, reinforcing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s message that the virus continues to spread. The latest cases are in women in their 20s. Both are recovering without hospitalization. One of the women lives in Kootenai County and recently traveled to Seattle. The other is a visitor to Bonners Ferry. She is isolating herself until she’s no longer contagious. Panhandle Health District (PHD) is monitoring both patients’ contacts for signs of flu symptoms and is working with the medical community and local governments to control spread as much as possible/Cynthia Taggart, Panhandle Health District. More here.
Idaho Dad talks a little bit more re: Coeur d’Alene’s “fabulous Kroc Center” here.
There was a time when Dave Turner meticulously reported on crime for the Coeur d’Alene Press. Today, he finds himself on the other side of the police blotter. Now a taxi driver, Dave drove a regular customer to Fred Meyer earlier this week. Only to have the customer run back out of the store and begin tearing the taxi apart in search of a lost wallet. When he couldn’t find his wallet, the customer demanded that Dave take him back to his house. When he didn’t find the wallet there, the customer returned to search the back seat of the car. Then, he accused Dave of taking his wallet and threatened to beat him. Finally, the customer disappeared into his house, stiffing Dave of his fare of $19.37. Be careful out there.
A second rape occurred last night in the Harrison Avenue area, according to the Kootenai 
County Sheriff’s Department. A 52YO woman was walking her dog in the wooded area near the Ponderosa Golf Course (French Gulch & Harrison) around 8:30 when she was attacked by two men. She was unable to provide a description of one of the attackers. However, she did describe one man as being older with shoulder length gray to blond hair that was cut short on top. She said that man was wearing a multi-colored shirt and blue jeans. She did not know either suspect. Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for the apprehension of the two men. Early this morning, a Coeur d’Alene woman in the 1100 block of Harrison reported being raped by a man after she left her home to smoke a cigarette.
Taylor Pettit, 1 year old, and her mother Robin Pettit of Airway Heights, Wa., get an eyeful of bubbles as they participate in the Spokane County Moran Prairie Library Baby Lapsit program Thursday in Spokane. Members of the class enjoyed stories, music and learning from Cindy Benson. (Dan Pelle/SR)
Item: Prisoner pleads for release: Jail protocol denies opportunity to attend mother’s funeral/Aleccia Warren, CdA Press.
More Info: The commission did ask Kootenai County if it could spare any staff to accompany Cecil on the three-hour trip to the funeral, but the jail said no, Craven said. Lt. Kim Edmondson of the sheriff’s department said none of the jail staff on Thursday could confirm that conversation with ICPP. But it isn’t jail policy to have guards accompany inmates attending funerals, she said. “We don’t typically provide private security, that’s not the business that we’re in,” she said. Cecil’s sister-in-law, Janice, said she’s phoned every government entity she can think of to get him to the service.
Question: Should the sheriff’s department make an exception in this case and find a way to get inmate Cecil Daniels to his mother’s funeral?
Irish low-cost air carrier Ryanair Ltd. is considering charging to use the toilets on its flights. Ranair CEO Michael O’Leary said that his airline plans to remove two of the three toilets on board its Boeing 737-800 jets, and replace them with seats. Those who want to use the remaining toilet would have to pay one pound, or $1.62, The Guardian is reporting. O’Leary said he plans to ask Boeing to figure out how to put credit card readers on the toilet locks/Andrea James, Seattle P-I Aerospace News. More here.
Question: Would you be willing to help the troubled airline industry out by paying to pee during a plane trip?
At As The Lake Churns, Pecky Cox writes of this photo from Priest Lake: I was on Muelle Cox (our dock) reading “The Shack.” … Quiet - no music - no sound - middle of the week. … Looked up and voila! … I took the picture because it reminded me of Antonio, Landy, Tony, Pecky, Alfonso, Alfredo, and Arturo. My four brothers and I with my parents. I guess I’m homesick is all.”
On Scanner Traffic this morning, there are three incidents involving bicyclists. The most humorous, of course, is the motorist who complained about triathlete bikers training for Ironman Coeur d’Alene peeing on the side of the road in public. In another incident on Canfield Avenue, a female bicyclist was passed by a man in a gray van who stopped and cussed her out.
Question: Do you think most bicyclists ride defensively and observe rules of road?
On Thursday, we discussed the pay for the top 25 department heads and assistants at the city of Coeur d’Alene, which ranged from $80,000 to about $121,000. You can read the facts and comments here.
Schoolchildren from London and southeast England place union flags with messages of thanks to those who died during the 1944 invasion of France on the beach at Asnelles, France, ahead of the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings tomorrow. A minute’s silence was held to remember the ‘courage, duty and self sacrifice’ of all those who fought in Normandy in the Second World War.(AP Photo/Ian Nicholson-pa) Question: Do you have an elderly relative who participated in the 1944 landings on Normandy? Feel free to give him a shout-out here?
Item: Mica Flats couple willing to swap home for a winning essay/KREM
More Info: A Coeur d’Alene couple is willing to unload their home to the person who wins an essay contest. The assignment, in 1,500 words or fewer, is: Why should Dick and Wendy Webb’s house become your house? … To enter the contest, you have to write an essay and write a check for $150 dollars. The Webbs are hoping for 4,500 entries, which would be close to what the house is worth—approximately $675,000. Area college students will pick the winners. Web link here.
Question: Would you be willing to chance $150 and the time to write a 1,500-word essay to win a rural home valued at $675K?
Scanner Traffic Plus: At 10:02 a.m., a passing motorist complains that triathletes training for Ironman Coeur d’Alene are hogging roadways on their bikes and urinating in public.
Yesterday, Thursday, June 4, a fire broke out above the gated community at the end of Cape Horn, on Glacier Loop. Fortunately, the fire was located on a rough steep slope above the last houses on the hillside. Approximately 2 acres burned, according to Chief Krill, of the Timberlake Fire District. When the department got to the site, they noted the fire was burning in two different, but adjacent spots, which was noted as a suspicious situation. No firm evidence had surfaced as to the actual cause, at the time the fire district retired from the scene/Bayview Herb, Bay Views. More here. And: Timberlake Fire Department report here.
… in editorial here.
So it’s a beautiful summer day and you, as a confident woman, put on some weather 
appropriate clothing. Whether you’re out for a run or out doing errands, at this time of year clothing tends to be more skin-revealing. You don’t think much of it and then suddenly you’re met with catcalls, whistling, kissing sounds, et cetera when you pass a group of men. When the layers come off, the catcalling increases. What you find is that your summer clothing has become an invitation for men to gawk at you and harass you with inappropriate comments.
While some women might find these “compliments” flattering, most women find them offensive and disrespectful. It makes women feel uncomfortable and sometimes even threatened/Anne-Marije Rook, UI Argonaut. More here.
Question: Do groups of men still whistle and make catcalls at passing women? Or is UI Argonaut columnist Anne-Marije Rook being dramatic here?
Brent Andrews: have shared many stories of Ottis the Basset hound here. She’s the 
impossible, and impossibly cute dog who would roll in “human” to hide her scent, who would attack her sister Basset at the slightest provocation, who would run off into the woods at the slightest chance and stay gone for hours and hours … well she died this week after 12 years of the most loyal service. We got her at six weeks old. She moved with us to Idaho and back to Tennessee. She tried our patience many times, escaping, chasing every scent like it was the last one and pulling on her leash like crazy everywhere we went. Full comment below.
Question: Describe the best dog you ever owned?
Bridge Academy graduate Christina Abrahamson with her daughter Kliessa Abrahamson, 2, in Plummer recently. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
Mia: Do you think men realize just how vulnerable women are, in not being able to physically protect themselves, their family or their property against an intruder/attacker? ” I think this a legitimate topic to be discussed. I definitely take on a different posture, especially after dark, or when traveling alone, than I do when I am accompanied by my husband.
Question: What do you think of Mia’s observation?
RE: Berry Picker: City pay an issue?/Huckleberries Online
Dan Of The County: I hadn’t looked at the city salaries before but at a quick glance would say 
they are about 15-30% higher than comparable positions in the county and the county generally has much broader responsibilities than the city. A few quick comparisons on salary— the sheriff makes about $85,000 per year compared to the chief of police at $99,000, the county clerk (and assessor and treasurer) make about $69,000 per year compared to the city clerk at $96,000, the county prosecutor makes about $98,000 compared to the city attorney at $120,000 and our finance director is about $80,000 compared to the city at $107,000. Full comment below.
Question: Would you swap your private job for a government one?
Dan Mitchinson: It’s easy to play Monday morning QB and try to guess what will or won’t work
these days. But until you’re in the trenches…and give it a try…you’ll never really know. Print and the electronic media will continue to change, evolve and adapt to the times. I believe some of the best work from our print journalists is still to come…and I hope they get their work showcased not just in the paper…but on radio, TV, digital, the web etc. I think it was Tina Brown who said (and I’m paraphrasing here) ‘Saving journalisim is more important than saving what it’s written on.’ Full post below.
Question: Anyone hazard a guess re: what journalism will look like in 10 years?
A 26-year-old Coeur d’Alene woman who went outside of her home for a cigarette this morning about 2 a.m. was grabbed as she tried to re-enter by a man who then sexually assaulted her inside the home, according to police. After the attack, the assailant fled. He was described as white, in his late 20s or early 30s, 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds. He has a pale complexion, brown short hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a vertically striped light blue and white shirt, khaki shorts and white athletic shoes. The attack occurred on Harrison Avenue in the 1100 block/Mike Prager, SR. More here.
Scott Stantis/Birmingham News
A 17-year-old Spokane girl was taken to the Kootenai County Juvenile Detention Center after a two-car crash that sent a Coeur d’Alene woman to the hospital and closed Northwest Boulevard for two hours Thursday night. Carissa R. Hanson was charged with aggravated DUI when the 1997 Ford Escort she was allegedly driving at a high speed struck a 1996 GMC Jimmy driven by Sonya Schy, 36, from behind at Davidson Avenue at 7:45 p.m. Schy had just turned northbound from Davidson onto Northwest Boulevard. Neither Hanson or the three passengers in her car were injury. ISP report below in dropdown box.
On this day in history: In 1794, Maximillien Robespierre is declared president of France’s National Convention, during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. In 1972, Black activist Angela Davis is acquitted of murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy in the 1970 murder of a judge. In 1989, Chinese troops crush pro-democracy student demonstrations in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, killing hundreds. In 1975, Angelina Jolie, actress was born in Los Angeles, CA. In the news today, President Obama is calling for a new beginning between the U.S. and Muslim countries here. And another Wild Card is in play …
San Francisco Giants starter Randy Johnson delivers a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the first inning of the first game of a baseball doubleheader earlier today in Washington. Moments ago, Johnson became the second oldest player, at 45, to win his 300th ballgame when San Francisco beat Washington 5-1. Story here. Boxscore here. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Bill Moore blindfolded his mother, twirled her around and pushed her toward the back door of 
the bar. Once outside, the blindfold was lifted and there in front of Julie was her birthday present: a red 1969 Ford Mustang fastback. And not just any ‘69 Mustang fastback. It was the same Mustang Julie had purchased when she was 15 years old, back in 1973 when she was a sophomore at Sentinel High School, as her first car. “I just about fainted,” Julie says. “I was totally floored.” It was Bill Moore who found the Mustang, covered in pitch and sitting in disrepair under a pine tree in a Missoula backyard. He’d run into the man who bought it from his mother 10 years ago, and told the owner if he ever wanted to sell it, to give him first crack at it/Vince Devlin, Missoulian. More here.
Question: If you could have one vehicle back that you’ve owned, in mint condition, which one would it be?
Lakeland High seniors Kyle McCrite and Camille Reynolds have been selected as the North Idaho Athletes of the Year by the Spokesman-Review. McCrite was a two-sport standout (football and wrestling), capturing a second straight state wrestling title. Reynolds was a three-sport standout (soccer, basketball and track), qualifying for state in basketball and defending a state title in the 300-meter hurdles. Greg Lee’s story here. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
Four-year-old Rottweiler dog Camino wears a newly developed bite guard in Bern, Switzerland, Thursday. Swiss manufacturer Saciri claims that the device that covers the dog’s front teeth meets animal needs and protects potential bite victims from severe injuries. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Keystone, Alessandro della Valle)
Top Cutlines:
In an e-mail to the SR newsroom this afternoon, Dan Mitchinson announced that the newspaper 
will end its in-house radio broadcasts. Mitchinson, director of SR radio operations, said that the newspaper will modify its arrangement with KJRB (with details about that to be announced in the coming weeks. However, the four-person radio team, including Dick Haugen (the former, long-time KVNI news director, pictured) and himself, won’t be part of the new arrangement. The radio staff’s last day of broadcast will be July 3. “What we did here received a lot of local … and national attention,” Mitchinson said. “And I know it will continue to evolve in one form or another. But I credit the quality of the newscasts to the reporters in this newsroom. Without your work … our job would have been a lot more difficult … and a lot less fun.”
Keith Erickson: Hey, the 12:18 (Scanner Traffic) entry was me. Headed home for lunch, some nut turned the wrong way onto the freeway. Thought for sure they’d figure it out … but they kept going and going. First time I’ve every called 911. My cell made a weird beeping sound when I punched send, unlike any sound it’s made before. Does that mean Big Brother is now monitoring my every move?
Question: Have you ever called 911? What for?
The photo above is the most user friendly of a series showing Sacha Baron Cohen, in character as Bruno, being lowered into the audience during the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday in Universal City, Calif. According to wire reports, MTV has confirmed that Sunday’s stunt in which Cohen fell crotch-first onto Eminem’s face was completely planned. Cohen, who played the lead in the controversial “Borat” movie, is making waves again his Bruno character in a movie that isn’t out year. Story here. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
Question: Are you a fan of the Sacha Baron Cohen type of movie?
City of Coeur d’Alene monthly water consumption user fees increased June 1. User rates have been programmed to increase annually from June 1, 2008, through June 1, 2011. The second annual rate increase is based on the rate study conducted to determine the necessary cash flow required to pay for the costs of operation, maintenance, equipment replacement, and planned capital improvement projects. Single-family residential rates will increase from .65 cents to .67 cents per thousand gallons up to 30,000 gallons per month/Coeur d’Alene Today. More here.
A Berry Picker sent HBO Central a list of top salaries for the city of Coeur d’Alene, wondering if they might be an issue in the 2009 municipal elections. I’ll include the top dozen & a half or so. Another 7 are earning $80,000 to almost $95,000:
Question: Are these salaries in line for the type of work the individuals do and the size of Coeur d’Alene?
Customer Gail Summers sprays water on Dusty, her 1-year old black cockapoo, in the dog washing area at Rods ‘n’ Dogs in Helena, Mont. Dogs may be the stereotypical “best friend” to many, while others consider their cars to be their first love. This new business in Helena caters to both. (AP Photo/The Independent Record, Eliza Wiley)
Question: MamaJD points out that we have one of these @ the SW corner of Kathleen & Ramsey. Have you ever taken your car and dog for a wash there?
Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic has filed election papers to run for clerk of tiny 
Wahkiakum County, one of the most sparsely populated counties in the state. The county auditor’s office confirmed to me this morning that Novoselic has filed not as a Democrat or Republican, but under the category “prefers Grange party.” That’s a reference to Novoselic’s longtime involvement in the Grange, a rural community organization with its roots in agriculture and political populism. Novoselic is the Master of Grays River Grange No. 124, presiding over meetings and rituals/Rich Roesler, Eye On Olympia. More here.
Question: Do you belong to any of the Grange organizations in the Inland Northwest? What do you think of the outfit?
First the Tacoma area. Now Yakima. The government crackdown on scantily clad baristas is marching east. Yakima City Council members have prohibited thongs and see-through clothing in public as part of a plan to combat what some say is a growing public indecency problem as baristas reportedly shed more and more clothes in their bid to bring in more customers and greater tips. The Inland Northwest, however, appears to still be embracing its lineup of enticing baristas, with radio contests such as Latte Hottie and no proposals in sight to regulate espresso attire/Meghann M. Cuniff, SR Sirens & Gavels.
Question: Should Coeur d’Alene and other Inland Northwest towns move now to ban coffee shops from featuring scantily clad baristas?
You’re in big trouble if you have to bring in an outside consultant in order to find inspiration 
within your organization. If you’re spending more than $112,000 for that consultant during the middle of the most significant budget crisis in your institution’s history, inspiration might be the least of your concerns. Instead, it might be time to give yourself a pinch and reconnect yourself with the realities faced by the work-a-day people who keep the place running. Administrators at the University of Idaho need to do just that after reports this week that consultant Magaly Rodriguez was brought in at a cost of $12,500 a month to serve as the UI’s “Chief Inspiration Officer”/Steve McClure, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here. And: Story here.
Question: Anyone out there willing to defend this nonsense?
A driver makes her past the Idaho Meth Project billboard in front of KKJ’s Pizza Place in Athol recently. “I’m not happy about having it here,” said Dan Holmes, owner of KKJ’s, but he added, “there is a huge meth problem in Idaho.”
Question: Do you think the Idaho Meth Project billboards have any impact on the meth epidemic?
11:44 a.m. CPD Blue is looking for a 3 1/2 YO Ashton Campbell (3 feet tall, w/blond hair and brown eyes) who is wearing a red Adidas shirt and blue sweat pants with a gray stripe. He is missing from the 700 block of 21st Street in the Fernan Elementary School area (near east end of Sherman/I-90). CPD Blue is staging in the area to conduct a full-scale search.
I have struggled with body image, and therefore the clothing that will clothe that body, for most 
of my life. It’s sad because I was never morbidly obese. Chunky at times, but by and large, just proportioned differently than your average small, medium or large. I spent most of my youth trying to pretend that I was something that I was not, dressing accordingly and looking like I was doing just that. I don’t know if there really was stuff out there that would have looked good on me and I just was blind to it or if such a thing really just plain didn’t exist at that point in time (the era in question being the seventies)/Liz Arakelian, My Life’s A Freak Show. More here.
Question: In the TV reality show, “What Not To Wear,” hosts Clinton & Stacy show badly dressed people how to upgrade their fashion, make-up, and hair style. Do you need a makeover from Clinton and Stacy. Or are you good at fixing yourself up?
U.S. President Barack Obama, right, tours the Sultan Hassan Mosque with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, in Cairo, Egypt, today. Obama arrived in Egypt for high level meetings before delivering a much heralded speech to an audience at Cairo University.(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) Question: Is President Obama on the right track in his attempt to patch up things between the U.S. and Muslim countries? Or are you concerned that he’s being too cozy with hostile countries?
RE: What’s in my cubicle/Sharon Strauss
Nothing’s wrong with us. (Yeah, I’m a neatnik.) We just prefer a more orderly environment to 
work and live in. Something about a coffee table, for example, serving as a repository for a pair of hedge clippers, a carburetor and last night’s dishes just gets to us. Who knows why. We have this silly idea that you should be able to walk through a bathroom without stepping on somebody else’s entire spring wardrobe. Others don’t seem to be bothered by those things. Which is fine. I’m not judging people who refuse to clean up after themselves. I just wish they would stop acting as if neat people are weird and crazy/Mike Butts, 2C Etc. More here.
Question: Are you a neatnik? Or do you think neatniks are strange?
Retired Idaho Sen. Larry Craig showed up Wednesday at a meeting of Beltway conservatives, according to a blog at the Washington Independent online publication. And even ideologically friendly fellow conservatives found the situation awkward. Click here for the Washington Independent blog post/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman.
Question: Why doesn’t Larry Craig simply go away, and live on his congressional retirement pension?
All of this brings me to a thought on basic human behavior: Everyday, we are surrounded by 
chaos. Hectic work places. Busy schedules. Negative news. And … we all hate it. About the only thing that gets us through is the idea that someday, somehow, we’ll find a way to “get away from it all.” Spend an afternoon at the ocean, hike to a secluded mountain lake, or hang out in the backyard for a lazy weekend. So … if peace and quiet is what we’re longing for… then why do we surround ourselves with chaos? We even do it when we have the occasional opportunity for peace. Many people leave their TV on all the time, for the noise. We crank the music in our cars, to keep our brains occupied. We schedule out every spare second of our lives/Otis G Experience. More here.
Question: How do you escape the constant noise around you in search of peace and quiet? Do you even try?
Item: Interior Department waives entrance fees for national parks on three prime summer weekends/Bill Schneider, New West
Bill Schneider/New West: Yesterday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced he was waiving national park entrance fees for three prime summer weekends (June 20-21, July 18-19 and August 15-16), a widely reported and welcomed pronouncement. But I’m more interested in the back story. To me, even though Salazar didn’t say a word about it, his action seems to forecast a new philosophy coming out of the National Park Service (NPS), starting with this admission that ever-increasing fees are partly responsible for steadily declining park visitation. And ending, hopefully, with something I trumpeted two years ago in this column, making our national parks a free tradition.
Question: Should the federal government permanently waive entrance fees at national parks?
Lewiston firefighter Laura Gifford rescues a cat from a house fire Wednesday in Lewiston. (AP Photo/Lewiston Tribune, Kyle Mills)
In this March 2004 file photo, actor David Carradine poses for a photo at his home in the Tarzana section of Los Angeles. David Carradine, star of the 1970s TV series “Kung Fu” whose career roared back to life when he played the assassin-turned-victim in Quentin Tarentino’s “Kill Bill,” was found dead by hanging earlier today in Thailand. A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy, Michael Turner, confirmed the death of the 72-year-old actor. Story here. (AP Photo/Ric Francis)
Question: What role will Carradine be remembered best for?
Bayview Herb:
just learned today, that a breeding pair of Wolves was frequently seen in Hidden Valley, which lies north of Hwy 53 and south of Hauser lake, last winter. I guess the next step will be shooting them off porches in a tract. While I realize I am going to enrage a few Sierra club types, the west was won by ranches, both cattle and sheep. They felt it necessary, and so did the federal government to eradicate them because you can’t teadch a wolf to discriminate between wild game and domestic herds of animals.
Question: Are you nervous that wolves are moving closer and closer to North Idaho urban areas?
Stickman: Traffic is worse wherever you go these days. When I came here in the late 80’s. two cars at a stop sign seemed intolerable. Now, forget it, we are like any other big city and have to put up with it. In the name of progress of course. I don’t like it, but then again I use all the shortcuts. As for all those that love our progress of late, I guess I point to that issue alone. You can have it.
Question: What do you like most re: the progress we’ve experienced in the Coeur d’Alene area?
RE: Militia forms in Bonners Ferry? Hunh?/Huckleberries Online
MikeS: Back in the 90s I was working for the Times-News in Twin Falls. A pretty active militia group had formed and we were covering one of their meetings as were all kinds of network 
television crews. When I entered the meeting room at the Pioneer tavern, I saw a guy that had recently allowed me to witness the birth of his child, a unique birth since the mother was paralyzed from an ATV accident. I hurried over, gave him a big greeting, firm handshake and a “how’s the baby?” Turned out he was a member of the militia. Out of the corner of my eye I saw all the TV cameras turn in our direction. Most of the out-of-town journalists didn’t have the comfort level I had at the Pioneer. I never tuned in that night but kind of wondered if I was represented on national television as a member of a militia rather than as a small-town photojournalist.
Question: What impact will the militia forming in Bonners Ferry have on North Idaho’s image?
Nick Anderson/Houston Chronicle
On this day in history: In 1800, John Adams moved to Washington, DC. He was the first President to live in what later became the capital of the United States. In 1932, Lou Gehrig set a major-league baseball record when he hit four consecutive home runs. In 1968, Andy Warhol was shot and critically wounded by Valerie Solanas in his New York film studio. In 1926, the late poet Allen Ginsberg was born. In the news this afternoon: A new poll shows that only 20 percent of Americans view Muslim countries positively here. And the daily Wild Card is now in play …
Sailors and Royal Marines from the Royal Navy frigate HMS Portland, intercept and board one of two pirate vessel during counter-piracy operations in coordination with a Spanish martime patrol aircraft, in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia, Tuesday. The two pirate vessels which were found to be carrying extra barrels of fuels, grappling hooks, and a cache of weapons including rocket propelled grenades, machine guns and ammunition, were subsequently sunk by gunfire.(AP Photo,Alex Cave, Royal Navy, ho) SR’s Today In Photos Question: Would you want to be a pirate?
MikeS: Was talking to a log truck driver yesterday at Twin Lakes and apparently there was a cougar siting around 5:30 a.m. when they first rolled in, a full grown cougar crossing the road near the end of Upper Twin. Most folks I spoke with on my morning walk today said they suspected they were around but had never seen one.
Question: Which wild animal in this region do you fear most — bear, wolf, moose, cougar, other?
Life Question: Do you agree with the analogy offered above that life is like a game of Dodge Ball? Or would you compare it with a different game? Why?
can be like dodge ball. You line up, you work hard to avoid being hit, but sometimes you have to take the hits as they come. The last one standing seems to be the winner. They don’t necessarily win because they are smarter, faster, or bigger. They just learned to dodge the ball better. When the whistle blows, a new game begins and no two games, or outcomes, are the same. We can try to fix or avoid a problem one way in life, but the next time that comes along, it may knock us off our feet. In the game of life, no one can dodge the ball forever/Live, Love, Laugh, Hope. More here.
Traffic was backed up on the Long Bridge in Sandpoint on Wednesday. Since the Sandcreek Byway construction started, summer traffic through Sandpoint, which is usually a snarl, has been worse than usual. Motorists are reporting sitting on the Long Bridge backed up for 45 minutes at a time. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
Question: Do you think the traffic through Sandpoint is worse than ever this summer as a result of bypass construction work?
At Spokane’s recent PetFest, former SR buddy Erica Curless massages a chihuahua. Erica now operates a massage business for horses and dogs. You write the cutline. (Photo special to Huckleberries by Taryn Hecker)
Top Cutlines:
My plans (form moving out on my own at 19) were sound and my plans were infallible – or at 
least, that’s what I thought. As I boldly went where every naive twenty-something had gone before, I tripped on a few hurdles that made me rethink my decision. The first snag that caught me off-guard was a cutback in hours at my job. I knew the economy was not the best, but after being promised a full-time position the cut hit me hard. I began to worry about matters that had never concerned me before, such as how I was going to pay rent, buy food and fill my gas tank. This first obstacle was making me see every pitfall of independence that I had taken for granted. Never before had I been nervous about money for some of the most basic necessities of life/Megan Sanders, WSU Evergreen. More here.
Question: When did you first strike out on your own? What unexpected things did you encounter?
They say they aren’t a bunch that will be running thru the woods with a beer and guns. … Well,
that is reassuring. But some of the rest of their thoughts are not.. at least not to this old gal … I could say more, but I better not, I don’t want to be the receiving end of hate mail. But it surprised me that the Bee had it as a big story on front page, with big headlines, yet didn’t have the story on their online paper at all … were they afraid some one might find this thru Google? After all we are just finally getting the story of the Butler and his group to fade somewhat/Simple Mind. More here.
Question: Should the Bee have publicized this group on its front page? Why do you suppose the Bee didn’t provide a link to the story on its online site? Aren’t militias passe — even for this part of the country?
Find out why Idaho Dad wants a bumpersnicker that reads, “I stop for moose,” here.
Question: If you had a bumpersticker that said “I stop for …” what would you put for the last word(s)?
I’m not sure why the owner of this private road in Bonner’s Ferry is feeling grumpy, it’s gorgeous scenery in those parts. Maybe I should have looked further to see if perhaps the Seven Dwarfs have retired to the mountains and if there were similar signs for Sneezy, Dopey and Happy, posts Councilwoman KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho. You can also read Kerri’s Main Street posts here. (I’ll provide a link to Main Street soon.)
Question: Which one of the names for the Seven Dwarfs best characterizes you — Grumpy, Sneezy, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Sleepy, and Dopey?
Cis: Holy Mother of … did someone blow up a refinery? Gas just jumped 20 cents in the past two days… Gas was $2.44 in Sandpoint and today it is $2.65!!!!!! For those in Bonner county… Ponderay Babe’s gas station has it at $2.55 for now.
Question: Do you think we’re headed for $4 gas again?
He was the go-to guy for Idaho media, especially in the Treasure Valley, whenever they needed a conservative comment. In the execrable “he said, she said” school of journalism, there has to be an “opposing viewpoint” to any sort of progressive action, and he was it. The downside was that he often didn’t accurately represent the views of all Idaho conservatives, either, who could be as upset as liberals at why this guy seemed to be on every reporter’s speed dial. But who’s the Idaho Statesman going to go to now? Brandi Swindell, who got thrown out of China? Randy Jackson, the “concerned father” in the Nampa Library censorship issue? Second Amendment defender Clayton Cramer? Former staffer and current columnist Wayne Hoffman? None of them can compare to Bryan/Sharon Fisher, New West. More here.
Question: Who do you think will be the media’s new go-to conservative?
Cruises on Lake Coeur d’Alene and “extravagantly catered” meals are among the reasons staff of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission is suggesting Avista shift half of the $1.2 million annually it spends for its board of directors from ratepayers to shareholders. The recommendation is contained within almost 300 pages of testimony filed recently by IPUC staff suggesting how Avista could trim its proposed increases in electrical and gas rates. … “Some board members fly to board meetings via first class and receive limousine transportation from the airport. Also board retreats consisted of extravagantly catered lunches and dinners along with cruises on Lake Coeur d’Alene,” according to (Donn English, senior IPUC auditor)testimony/Elaine Williams, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Does Avista do all that it can to cut expenses that it passes along to consumers?
Gail Churape of Chewelah, Wash., and her grandson, Harper Sol, (2) of Spokane, get close for a snapshot of soaking up the sun on the north-side of Manito Park, in Spokane, on Monday. (AP Photo/The Spokesman-Review, Dan Pelle)
From left, Kimberly Young, from Oakland, Calif., Shaun Nicolas Doss, 6, from Gilbert, Ariz., and Jeremy Warriner, from Indianapolis, Ind., wearing prosthetics, and other victims of defective GM and Chrysler cars, and their families, gather at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington today to ask Congress for help in dealing with legal cases involving defective GM and Chrysler vehicles. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Question: Can you describe a “lemon” vehicle that you’ve owned? How did it let you down?
Lynne: Good heavens. Peterson’s Grocery isn’t even safe during the day any more. I wouldn’t 
dare venture down there at night. I stopped in yesterday afternoon after work and a young man was pacing back and forth across the driveway talking on his cell phone, right in the lane of travel. I honked my horn at him. He flipped me off and kept his pace. When I finally got around him and parked, his brother started shouting obscenities at me from his parked car about two spots down from mine. They were both sitting in the car when I went to leave. I had to have another male customer walk me out to my car. Scary!
Question: Are there any parts of your INW town that you consider unsafe during the day? At night?
I view Huckleberries Online as more than a job. I believe I serve a readership at least half the size of the 
real circulation of the Coeur d’Alene Press (5000 to 6000 Berry Pickers) who are hungry for the type of local/regional news and commentary that this site provides — information and opinion that can’t be found in one place elsewhere. Also, I believe HBO has developed a unique online community that isn’t found in too many places. That’s why I’m concerned about the unpaid week furlough that everyone in the newsroom is required to take by Sept. 30. Add that to my remaining vacation schedule of 4 weeks, and I’ll be gone from HBO Central for at least 5 more weeks by the end of the year (with the possibility that we’ll be required to take another furlough in the fourth quarter). I hate shutting down this site several times a year and denying you access to the online fun. CindyH performed admirably in filling in during my recent vacation of 11 days. But we need to come up with some sort of system to cover my absences in the future. I’ll talk to Blogmeister Ryan re: possible ways to fill this space during vacations and furloughs. Can any of you think of a way that the HBO community can help minimize the impact of my vacation/furlough absences?
A 
second suspect in a possible Coeur d’Alene residential burglary surrendered to CPD Blue at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, according to police spokeswoman Christie Wood. In a news release, Wood said that Jake Smith, 18, of Hayden. Allegedly, Smith was involved in a possible burglary of a Margaret Avenue home in which the homeowner shot another suspect in the arm with a revolver. Shae A. Crump, 24, of Coeur d’Alene, was arrested for burglary after seeking treatment for the wound at the Kootenai Medical Center emergency room. Local police are still seeking the third suspect in the shooting: Eli Skalak, 29, of Coeur d’Alene. The homeowner said he found three men standing at his open sliding door after being awakened by his dog. He fired a shot when it appeared that they would attack him. Earlier Huckleberries story here.
Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova takes a tumble in her quarterfinal match against U.S. player Serena Williams during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris Wednesday. (AP Photo/Michel Euler) Question: Have you ever suffered an embarrassing pratfall — literally or figuratively — in a public setting?
At 2C Etc. (the Idaho Press-Tribune reporters’ blog), Sharon Strauss describes her desk and work cubicle as “a mess.” She continues: “I believe my desk is an accurate reflection of the interior of my mind, and - as a logical extension - my personal life. I also think you can never and should never trust a neat person. They have something to hide. Not me. You can trust me. See? Everything is laid out in the open. My “organizational system” is probably about a half-foot deep, as you can tell. But I know where everything is! Messiness is a sign of creativity, they say. Not to mention a firetrap.” More from Susan here.
Question: What’s in your cubicle?
It’s been an instructive experience to watch the left-wing media and blogosphere digest the news that the IVA is in a time of transition as I prepare to assume a new role with the American Family Association in Tupelo, Mississippi. In the blog entries below, I am blamed for some mythical wave of violence in Idaho, resulting supposedly from my hate-spewing rhetoric, even though one of the writers is honest enough to admit there is no evidence of any connection whatsoever between my social commentary and any act of violence anywhere. But this does give us all a peek into the mindset of homosexual activists: for them, disagreement is hatred, and they want to shut down anybody who disagrees with them/Bryan Fischer, Idaho Values Alliance. More here.
Question: Will the departure of Bryan Fischer to Mississippi mean the end to the Idaho Values Alliance? Or will someone else take up Fischer’s banner?
A man walks past an iconic image from the 1989 Chinese government crackdown on protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square ahead of it’s 20th anniversary in Taipei, Taiwan, earlier today. (AP Photo/Wally Santana) Question: Did the 1989 protest at Tiananmen Square make a lasting difference?
Our family has had a membership at a local gym for many, many years, and will continue there, though we live near the Kroc Center and enjoy its beauty every time we drive by or ride our bike down the Prairie Trail. I am very glad it is doing well” — Mary Souza, Coeur d’Alene Press online thread this week re: Kroc Center.
Question: What’s wrong with this picture?
Under a 1936 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office certification, the commission can regulate the 
way the word Idaho is used in connection with any potato product. And if the commission doesn’t enforce the rules consistently, the feds could rescind the certificate, said commission president and CEO Frank Muir. Enter the Idaho Fry Co., which opened two months ago. The restaurant could keep Idaho in its name, Muir said, if it pays a $100 annual fee, agrees to use 100 percent Idaho potato products and submits to commission auditing. The commission isn’t bluffing, either; it runs DNA tests on restaurant samples to make sure a potato is as Idaho as advertised. Oh, and the restaurant would also have to change its name in some undefined manner that makes clear that the Idaho Fry Co. is not Idaho’s fry company. Something, says Muir, like Fry Co., featuring Idaho potatoes/Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Izzit me — or does the Idaho Potato Commission seem to be more than a bit anal about the use of the Idaho brand name?
You then received another kick to the gut when you opened your Press on Friday and saw the front page story telling you that North Idaho College is raising its share of your property taxes by 3 percent. No big deal? Well, you thought about it and you remembered that NIC raised its portion of property taxes this time last year, then tacked on an additional $2.5 million in previously uncollected property taxes so it could purchase property, and now the college is taking another 3 percent property tax increase on top of that. For roughly one 12-month period, that’s a lot of additional dollars you’re being forced to pay your community college/Coeur d’Alene Press editorial. More here.
Question: I view this as another slap at North Idaho College — and, by extension, the Education Corridor — by an attack dog for Duane Hagadone. How do you view it?
The Villages at Riverstone in Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday. Thirty six condos in the development will be auctioned June 14. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
Question: Would you like to live in a Riverstone condo, if you could afford to do so?
CindyH:
Um. While I certainly wouldn’t stop Antonio should he choose to remove his clothes, and I still wish Santa would have brought me the Mormon Missionary calendar, the whole male-stripper thing seems kinda silly to me. Of course, living with five men in various stages of development may have jaded my perspective a bit. Lets just say, I’ve seen more weenies than Oscar Mayer, know what I mean, Toadman?
Bent (for all the rest of us): Ok, it’s too early in the morning, but I hereby reserve the right to use this quote at the most opportune moment in the future
JBelle: Currently, I am in an awkward situation with my travel buddies. Told all of them, again, and firmly, that I will not go any where after May 1 and before October 1. It’s too darn nice here and I savor and cherish every minute of spring and summer in Bellemaison and the great PNW. They don’t understand and hold me in a certain contempt as a result. But as Marmitetoastie would put it, “am I bovvered?”
Question: Is JBelle right? Is the Inland Northwest one of the best places to vacation during the summer?
Wheels: DFO, imagine my surprise getting off the elevator on the 2nd floor of the SR’s CDA office only to find the east newsroom(?) totally empty.Where have they put you and what’s happening with the empty space?
DFO: Most of the newsroom now occupies the former conference room on the second floor. The two sports guys and I asked to be mixed in with the advertising and circulation departments in the other wing. I have a nice man cave at the back of the wing.
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
Our dear Marmitetoasty posted this yesterday: Dear Dingleberries … and Davieboy; I wont be around to comment this coming couple of weeks, please dont think Im ignoring ya all, cos I aint, just got a spot of bovver going on in my neck of the woods so to speak. … and I so wanted to be able to come over at the beginning of September to meet ya all…. sigh….. oneday I will get to taste Bents Beer and visit with stickman and garden with InlandEmpireGirl and go hunting with Starr LOL … NOT… Anyways just wanted to give you the nods up that I aint being rude by not commenting lol.” Keep Marmie in your thoughts and prayers as she goes through another bout with her health. Now, for your daily Wild Card …
Sculptor David Adickes works on his sculpture of President Barack Obama Tuesday at his studio in Houston. The 18 foot tall statue will be installed at President’s Park in South Dakota where Adickes’ sculptures of the previous 43 presidents are currently displayed. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Editor Gary Graham announced this afternoon that everyone in the Spokesman-Review newsroom, including himself, will be required to take five days of unpaid furlough by Sept. 30. The move forestalls the possible layoff of five more employees in the newsroom, as advertising revenue continues to lag behind projections. Graham said he remains optimistic that there will be no more layoffs in the newsroom through the end of the year. However, a number of layoffs will take place in the circulation and advertising departments by the end of the month.
JeanieS: I am a hugger, tree hugger, kid hugger, old people hugger, friend hugger, co-worker 
hugger. But not a kisser. Oh, I kiss - but I don’t like to BE kissed by just anyone. For some reason it’s like the old handshake syndrome. I like a firm handshake - not a wimpy, woosey handshake. Same with kisses. A nice firm kiss. Not a wimpy, woosey kiss and definitely not a wimpy, woosey, WET kiss. Gag! Many years ago my brother-in-law, who I thought was pretty terrific, kissed me in thanks for buying dinner for everyone. That was my first (and last) wimpy, woosey, wet kiss. I have forever since wondered where my sister ever found this creepy guy. And stayed with him all these many wet years. eeeuuuuuu.
Question: What kind of kisses don’t you like?
While crowds enjoyed splashing on the south shore beach on Hauser Lake on Sunday, a red-winged blackbird has a bird’s eye view of the north shore marshland from his perch atop a pole, posts Councilwoman KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho.
Madame Tussauds studio team members put the final touches to a wax figure of U.S singer Britney Spears, center, London, today in preparation of her arrival for the British leg of her Circus world tour. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)
Top Cutlines:
Two suspects are still at large and a third suspect is in custody after being shot by a 74YO man 
in a possible burglary attempt in the 1100 block of Margaret Avenue late Monday night. According to CPD Blue reports, the man awoke about 11:40 p.m. when his dog jumped on the bed. The dog was shaking so badly that he knew something was wrong. Grabbing a handgun, he walked into the kitchen where he found two males standing outside his sliding-glass door. He yelled at the suspects who appeared to be coming into the residence after him. That’s when he fired his gun at them and called 911. Later, officers found a man with a gunshot wound at the KMC emergency room. They arrested wounded Shaw A. Crump (pictured), 24, Coeur d’Alene, charging him with burglary. Police are still seeking Jake S. Smith, 18, of Hayden and Eli Skalak, 29, of Coeur d’Alene/Huckleberries. Meghann’s write-up with Skalak’s mug shot here.
A 
Coeur d’Alene man will serve at least 12 years in prison after being convicted of lewd conduct with a minor under 16. Travis N. Turnboo, 21, was convicted on three counts, and Kootenai County 1st District Judge Charles Hosak sentenced him to 50 years in prison Monday with eligibility for parole after 12 years, according to the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office. Turnboo has been in Kootenai County Jail since his arrest Aug. 13 for sexually abusing three children in a year, records show/Meghann M. Cuniff, SR. More Sirens & Gavels here.
A Brazilian Air Force helicopter flies over a plane during search operations of the missing Air France jet, at an airport of Fernando de Noronha, northeast of Brazil today. Brazilian military planes found a 3-mile (5-kilometer) path of wreckage in the Atlantic Ocean, confirming that an Air France jet carrying 228 people crashed in the sea, Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said. Story here. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Liz tells you of her dread of flying here
Question: What is your greatest phobia?
A group opposing Referendum 71 says it will publicize the names of everyone who signs 
petitions to put Referendum 71 on the fall ballot. The group, which has named the site whosigned.org, says that the referendum process “must meet a high standard of transparency to ensure a fair and open discussion in the public forum.” The referendum asks voters to veto Senate Bill 5688, a new law granting domestic partners many of the same rights and responsibilities of spouses/Rich Roesler, Eye On Olympia. More here.
Question: Would you sign a petition if you knew that the opponents would publicize your name as one who supports a particular issue?
At our house, the division of labor is almost 50-50. Or at least, that’s what we aim for. I work part-time and go to night classes. My husband works full-time, but in the evenings and on weekends, he really makes an effort to play with the kids, cook nutritious meals for the family and do his share of the household duties. We try to reach a happy medium, but the midpoint is often elusive. There are moments when one of us gets resentful, but for the most part, we do our best to make it work/Virginia de Leon, Are We There Yet? More here.
Question: How do you and your significant other divide the labor in your household?
A baby goat surveys a brushy roadblock on the way to the creek at his Stateline playground, e-mails Councilwoman KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho. Mebbe this goat is related to the ones who are always getting lost in the Hauser Lake area. You can also read Kerri’s Main Street online column at the Coeur d’Alene Press online here.
CindyH: 
Now, I’m gonna rile ya’ll up and say…I’ll bet you can live without TV— even the Discovery Channel :-) We’ve never had cable, so we’re used to doing without. Our television is on from 4-5 during the weekday. And then on again periodically at after 7:00. That’s it. I’d just as soon never have it on. I’d rather rent movies. I get my news online and in print. Now, take away my high-speed Internet access or my library card and there’d be hell to pay.
Question: Could you live without Cable TV?
A scammer using the TTD service for hearing impaired bilked Tomato Street for $1800 last week in a scheme that began with a $1431 order for lasagna for a purported party in Spokane, according to CPD Blue reports. In a call to a Tomato Street manager, a man who identified himself as Mac James through a telephone intermediary placed the order Thursday for the weekend party, using a credit card. The scammer also charged $900 for a heated delivery truck to transport the lasagna. The $900 was sent via Western Union to the truck company. Two days later, “Mac James” contacted a second Tomato Street manager to double the order to $2331, requiring the Appleway business to send another $900 via Western Union to the trucker. On Monday, Tomato Street GM suspected a fraud when another man called asking that the order be canceled alleging his son had been in a serious car accident. He wanted her to charge his card and send the money to the hospital. When she refused, he harassed her with several phone calls. Ultimately, Tomato Street ate the $1800 delivery service bill on the advice of its merchant services company. Which told her the credit cards were out of Nigeria.
With his eye on the thrown training decoy, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever named Kiowa hangs in mid-air before plunging into a pool during the dock diving competition Saturday at PetFest, the weekend festival for pets and their owners at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center. Kiowa is owned by Gigi Grant of Hayden Lake. Besides the many opportunities to show off, pet owners could also talk with vendors of pet supplies and with various animal welfare agencies. (Jesse Tinsley/SR)
What happens when food is not stored properly or garbage is scattered while camping in bear country? Find out how disastrous this scenario can be as Woodland Park Zoo’s (Seattle) grizzly bears tear into a “non-safe” camp site at Bear Affair & Big Howl for Wolves. More here.
Question: Have you ever camped in grizzly country?
“After spending a great weekend doing everything my 2-year-old son wanted to do from swimming at the Kroc Center to eating at his favorite pizza place,” e-mails Stacy Hudson, NIC Press Room, ”I dropped him off with his care provider Monday morning as he clung to my neck and wailed ‘No Mama, nooooo!’ Like tearing off a band aid, I peeled him off me and left as quickly as I could to decrease the trauma, for both him and I. But I was still distraught over why all of a sudden this child that doesn’t care if his mom heads off to Timbuktu for a month, much less drops him off for a workday, was suddenly suffering from such separation anxiety. I texted my husband seeking comfort and got this reply… ‘He’ll be OK. Just had a really good weekend.’ Which begs the question, if we have a crummy weekend, do Monday mornings get easier? Question: What do you think? Is it easier to come back to work on Monday after you’ve had a bad weekend? Or a good one?
CPD Blue is looking for an individual who climbed a city water tower at Atlas Road & Industrial Avenue in Coeur d’Alene and left behind graffiti. A work crew cleaning the tower Monday discovered the graffiti left behind on top, 157 feet from the ground, according to Water Department director Jim Markley. The tower was last cleaned a year ago. The city will install a device to prevent anyone that isn’t a city worker from climbing the tower, Markely said.
Frum Helen Back: I’m going through withdrawals right now because since yesterday, I can’t get channels 114 or 168 on Time Warner. Their survice center sucks big time. If any of you have Time Warner and can get those channels will you please let me know?
DFO: I’m experienced one of those happy moments earlier this spring when I finally switched from T-W to Direct TV. Not only did T-W fail to provide access to important sporting events like the Fiesta Bowl and MLB all-star game for some time after it supplanted Adelphia, but it also caused bank hiccups for me when they changed their electronic e-billing address w/o notifying me. The local service center was next to worthless in helping me sort out the problem. Before switching to Direct TV, I asked T-W if it had any comparable deals for a basic TV package. The T-W rep seemed offended that I’d even ask for a cut from $62 per month. The only thing I miss about T-W is the local-access channels. Direct TV provides the rest at half the cost (for a year).
Question: Anyone else have an unhappy experience with T-W cuss-tomer service?
Employees of Cargill Corn Milling hoisted a 30 by 48-foot flag earlier today in Dayton, Ohio to salute two employees who have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Employee Savannah Moeller, right, helped hold the giant flag for folding after the ceremony. (AP Photo/The Dayton Daily News, Ty Greenlees) Twofer Question: Do you have a flag to fly at your home? If so, how often do you fly it?
The other day, the NRCC issued a news release proudly proclaiming its new series of so-called 
robocalls, or automated telephone calls that connect the recipient with nothing other than a recorded message, attacking Minnick. What for? For joining every other member of his party in putting down a Republican attempt to mount a congressional investigation of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s claim the CIA misled her about its torture of suspected terrorists. … Speaking of wasting time, robocalls have become a blight on the political landscape. Most Americans dislike them, but even the government’s do-not-call list is no insurance against them. Calls of a political nature are exempted from the list’s restrictions. And members of both parties use them/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Are you on the state do-not-call list? Should the do-not-call list be expanded to cover robo-calls from Idaho political parties and candidates?
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor laughs as she meets with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday. Washington Post story here. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) Question: Do you support the Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor?
Item: Bedlam rules the day: But parents say they can control the chaos that spring brings for active children/Jody Lawrence-Turner, SR
More Info: May is the new December for parents and their school-age children, with spring becoming as crazy as the holiday season hustle and bustle. The end of the school year. Wrapping up athletic events. Martial arts classes. Final musical and theatrical performances. Attending graduations and the parties that follow. Not to mention any family events that might come up. Perhaps chaos is the best description.
Question: How do you keep your kids from driving you up the wall during the late spring and summer vacation?
Q: Hey, The Spokesman- Review I received on Monday looks really different – what gives?
The Omdougsman: You must mean the front-page story from the editor. It’s about time we got some bylines out of that guy.
Q: No. I mean that my newspaper is skinnier than an Olsen twin with rickets.
The Omdougsman: Oh, yeah. That too.
Q: Are any other publications doing this?
The Omdougsman: My, yes. The Watchtower, Zig-Zag rolling papers, the Bazooka Joe bubblegum comic, Idaho’s road map … More Omdougsman here.
Question: Marianne Love/Slight Detour doesn’t like the new, smaller SR here. Have you had time to digest the skinnier version?
First District Judge Charles Hosack at the Kootenai County Courthouse on Monday. He is retiring after 12 years on the bench. He is best-known for presiding over the civil trial that bankrupted the Aryan Nations. Read Alison Boggs’ SR story here. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
RE: Touched/Huckleberries
Cis: In my job I noticed the great appreciation of a hug. So I made sure I hugged all of 
my residents. I have seen wives who laid in bed with the dying husbands, and holding them in their arms as he passed away … I have even suggested some of my friends and family who were losing their spouses, and have them come back and thank me. So yes, hugs are very important. 90% of us need hugs. I am a hugger… The other 10% are not comfortable or embarrassed, and I honor that. Wasn’t there a Professor who did a study on this about 20 years ago?
Question: Do you like to be hugged? Or does hugging make you uncomfortable and embarrassed?
Truly: Boz and I are heading over to Bellingham this Friday to visit Sam the Reporter and the lovely Kathryn for a few days and I can’t wait. I guess I am so excited I have become annal about getting ready with a spread sheet of what needs to be done and packed and all colored coded. I think that shows how badly I am ready for a vacation. Back in the day when the boys were little we could just say hey, let’s go camping, and we could throw the stuff in the car and take off. Now it’s colored coded spreadsheets showing the most minute detail.
Question: How well do you prepare for a vacation? Too much? Too little?
RE: Another high-rise for downtown/SR
Stickman: I have to disagree for once with the one known as John. I moved here with the idea of 
a small town, whether it was dead or dying. I don’t like the new idea of what we are becoming, it is all very ugly and imposing. I love the Mayor though, I think she has the right vision for our future. I just hate those tall buildings that look like they will take over our downtown. I want the small town that I moved here for many years ago, but that will never be again. We need to calm down a bit though, otherwise we will become an ugly tourist town that caters to the rich and famous. Just look towards the building along the lakeshore, such a hideous thing is that. Looks like a prison, we surely don’t need more of that.
Question: Can you name a relatively new building or two that has greatly improved the look of Coeur d’Alene?
RE: Christie’s Visitor’s Guide to City Ordinances/Huckleberries
EJS: I suppose we could ask for the dog violation log book and see how many are or were given in a year to settle if it’s enforced or not. I expect it’s not though. Oh the poor poor dog owners, screw’um, no dogs means no dogs. There are plenty of mountains to take your dog. Oh but one can’t “show off their beloved fido way out in the woods.” I’m sick of dogs. There is barely enough waterfront for people let alone a dog. Give me a break.
Question: Would you be bold enough to confront a dog owner who allowed his pet to poop in a public place?
Michael Ramirez/Investor’s Business Daily
My first day back from vacation is now in the books. I felt like I was a half step behind all day. But I covered the bases with the usual fare. More or less. I struggle most with trying to blog and pay attention to the scanner at the same time. It isn’t as easy as it seems. For some reason, the pounding of the waves on the Oregon Coast kept distracting me as I tried to pay attention. It wasn’t until late this afternoon that I began getting the hang of multi-tasking at HBO Central again. I’ll be better tomorrow. Meanwhile, I’ll leave this Wild Card behind for you to play …
“It’s pretty cold, but I’m such a fish,” said Devon Smith of Spokane as she floated in Lake Coeur d’Alene on Monday. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
I love names. I give names to everything – my car, my cat, my kids, spiders, clothes, and oven 
mitts. Actually, it’s my Mom’s doing. She started it. When we were growing up, Mom acquired an oven mitt in the shape of an alligator (or a crocodile – I can’t tell them apart), and we were fascinated with “him.” We worried endlessly about how he would survive going into the hot oven to grab something with his teeth. Mom named him Oscar. Oscar was like a Mighty Crock who could withstand innumerous dunkings into the fires of hell, er, the oven. He was singed, and once even caught fire upon which my Dad heroically put out the fire by throwing Oscar into the dishwater and nearly drowning him/JeanieS, Nuts & Nonsense. More here.
Question: Do you have a name for your vehicle?
Question: First, read Sgt. Christie Wood’s Visitor’s Guide To City Ordinances. Then, comment on this question: Do you think the city of Coeur d’Alene does a good job enforcing the ordinances that are listed?
Jamere Radford, of North Wind Construction, washes trucks May 21 at the hazardous waste repository in Kellogg. The effort to clean up the 21-square-mile Bunker Hill Superfund site, contaminated by lead from Silver Valley mining, is among projects in the Inland Northwest to benefit from federal stimulus money. Story here. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
A cat relaxes in the morning sun on a terrace near Kiel, northern Germany, as temperatures reach 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 Fahrenheit) this morning. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Heribert Proepper)
Top Cutlines:
Let’s look at the alternative. If GM had just gone bankrupt, new owners would have popped up, 
bought the business from the courts and started over. Maybe GM gobbled up two many smaller car companies and got too large. Don’t forget that names like: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Plymouth, Dodge, Buick, Oldsmobile, Chrysler,Willy’s, the maker of jeeps, were not just model names. These were separate car manufacturers that were gobbled up by what is now General Motors,and Chrysler, which will exist no more than one month from now. A new company will sprout from the old, run principally by the government, not stockholders. How many of you think that government can run a business better than private enterprise. In the coming years, look for the Supreme Court to be very, very busy/Herb Huseland, Bay Views. More here.
In this May 24 photo, Britain’s Got Talent star Susan Boyle is having a bad hair day. The Scottish songbird with the frizzed-out hair doesn’t look like a star. She is a bit chubby, with plain features, and no thousand watt show biz smile. But her golden voice has made her the overwhelming favorite in Britain’s Got Talent finals on Saturday. Unfortunately, for her, she came in second. Dogwalk Musings has some theories why she didn’t win the competition here. (AP Photo/Andrew Milligan/PA) Question: Are you disappointed that overnight sensation Susan Boyle finished second in the Britain’s Got Talent competition?
Went boating (Saturday), on Coeur d’Alene Lake. So nice. Just relaxed. A friend of mine has a boat. It was great…. We ended up settling in to Beauty Bay, aptly named, after having putted our way over to the other side of the lake from Coeur d’Alene, to a restaurant there (I think Fast Eddie’s?), where I asked for a list of summer drink specials, and they had none. This has been my new question this summer - what summer drinks do you have? And no one has any. See, I think that’s weird. I think they’d be creating summer drinks right and left, now that the snow has melted/Beth Bollinger, Accidental Rabbit Trails. More here.
Question: Which summer alcoholic drink do you enjoy most?
An arson fire that destroyed a Coeur d’Alene apartment last summer earned a man at least five years in prison under a sentence imposed today in Kootenai County District Court. A jury convicted Daniel R. Keyes, 33, of first-degree arson in March for an August fire at his former fiancee’s apartment, 2190 W. Fairway Drive. Keyes had just been released from jail for violating a no-contact order with her when the fire broke out in the early hours of Aug. 11, said Jim Reierson, Kootenai County deputy prosecutor/Meghann Cuniff, SR. More here.
Passenger check-in at the Air France check-in desk of the Tom Jobim Airport in Rio de Janeiro today. Air France flight 447, carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, ran into a towering wall of thunderstorms and disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean. French President Nicolas Sarkozy told families of those aboard Monday that “prospects of finding survivors are very small.” (AP Photo/ Ricardo Moraes) Question: Do you fear flying?
The profile of downtown Coeur d’Alene keeps rising, literally. A six-story office building will be 
built at Seventh Street and Sherman Avenue, next to one of the two new condo towers that has lifted the city’s skyline in recent years. The Plaza on Sherman, at 704 E. Sherman Ave., is being developed by Boise-based VIQ Development, a firm that has done retail and high-rise office development in the Boise market. Located just north of McEuen Terrace, on the former spot of a Señor Froggy restaurant, The Plaza is being developed in a partnership with the J.B. Dodge Co., a local landowner, and was designed by Boise-based CSHQA. … The Plaza will offer about 66,000 square feet of leasable office space with views of downtown and Lake Coeur d’Alene/Scott Maben, SR Here’s The Dirt. More here.
Question: In the early 1990s, CdA visionaries, like Mayor Sandi Bloem, decided one of the ways to “save” downtown CdA was to attract more businesses and year-round residents by building high rises. Do you prefer the new downtown with high rises or the downtown of yesteryear?
Last Wednesday, my wife and I snapped out of our Oregon Coast dreaming long enough to realize that Coeur d’Alene’s north shore offered stunning views, too. So we motored down to Farmer’s Market. Where I picked out 6 tomato plants. And then decided on an evening stroll along Sherman Avenue, through City Park and along the Dike Road rimming North Idaho College Beach. At the entrance to the park, we encountered a group of teens hanging out, including a blond girl with a live snake wrapped around her neck. I said to Mrs. O: Now, that’s something I’ve never seen before in downtown Coeur d’Alene.
Question: What’s the strangest sight that you’ve seen along the Coeur d’Alene waterfront?
We may be in the midst of a national recession, but here in Missoula, retailers are experiencing a boom in one of the more modest departments of our economy. In fact, you could call it a bloomer and bust rally. Missoula women, retail sales tell us, are not skimping in the panty department. Intimate apparel sales in the Garden City are robust at all the major department stores and at specialty stores. At Macy’s, the lingerie department - followed by accessories and shoes - are giving the store’s numbers a significant lift. They are the bright spots in what is an otherwise sagging retail environment, said store manager Brian Murray/Missoulian.
Question: Even in a tough economy, are there some nonessentials that you consider essential and continue to buy?
In this recent photo, a large bullfrog floats motionless on the surface of a pond at a park in Roseburg, Ore. (AP Photo/The News-Review, Robin Loznak)
The Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre season is nearly upon us and once again this national-
class summer stock theater has lured some Broadway names into its casts. The first name is a familiar one around here: Ellen Travolta, who will play Mona in “Dames at Sea” (July 23-Aug. 2). Travolta is a veteran of Broadway, film and TV who lives in Coeur d’Alene and has appeared in many CdA Summer Theatre shows. The second is Steven Booth (pictured as “Pippin”), who had a lead role on Broadway last year in the short-lived musical “Glory Days,” and who also appeared in “Avenue Q.” Booth is a Coeur d’Alene product who honed his talents on the CdA Summer Theatre stage in “Pippin,” “West Side Story” and “Oklahoma!” Booth will play the title role in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” which opens the theater’s season on June 13 and runs through June 27/Jim Kershner, SR. More here.
Question: Are you a fan of live theater? Which play did you last see?
This just in from SR buddy Meghann Cuniff. Who has started a public safety blog from our Spokane bureau, called Sirens & Gavels. E-mails Megs: ”Encourage Hucksters to send public safety related tips my way.” You can find her new blog link under my Spokane Blogs roundup or here. For some reason, I always feel like a proud papa whenever one of you launches a blog.
As I mentioned a few times during my 11-day vacation, I deeply appreciated the monster assist that CindyH provided in filling in for me during the work week. I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews re: her time here. Rather than simply mouth or write my thanks, however, I decided to reward Cindy with this photo of Swiss tennis star Roger Federer at the French Open in Paris this morning. He’s no firefighter, but …
Ryan Pitts, the Spokesman-Review web site developer, deserves a slap on the back for a job well done, considering he brought forth a new web design and redesigned the Blog pages over the last year. Speaking as an armchair observer, I can state without qualification that he was patient without a flaw in getting the update(s) to us, and repeatedly worked late into the day making things work as smooth as silk/David Laird, Community Comment. More here.
DFO: Put your hands together for Blogmeister Ryan and the SR online team for grabbing the silver in the NW online sweepstakes and for his recent promotion to Senior Editor. Which means he’s only a heartbeat away from the top newsroom spot. Now, don’t you feel badly re: the way you and mostly I sometimes drive Blogmeister Ryan to distraction here?
Dunno about you, but I’d pass on stealing from these SR paper tubes in the Hauser Lake area, if I were a thief with a tendency to do so. SR buddy Kathy Plonka snapped this photo this morning. BTW, the newspaper in the right SR tube is the CdA Press. For some reason, the Press carrier helped himself to our tube — and the thief passed on it.
During my recent vacation, I read an Alden Nowlan poem, “He Sits Down On The Floor Of A School Of The Retarded” in which the poet offers this thought after an encounter with a mentally handicapped woman who wanted him to hold her: “It’s what we all want, in the end, to be held, merely to be held, to be kissed (not necessarily with the lips, for every touching is a kind of kiss”).
Question: Do you agree that all touching is a kind of kiss — and something that everyone needs?
Item: Pro-life leaders denounce murder of abortion doctor George Tiller/FoxNews.com
Bryan Fischer/Idaho Values Alliance: As much as we can understand the energy generated 
by the heinous nature of Tiller’s crimes, Christians cannot be true to the Scriptures and sanction the bombing of abortion clinics or the murder of abortionists. The answer to homicidal violence, in other words, is not more homicidal violence. The solution rather is for the pro-life community to work ceaselessly for legal and judicial reform so that the monstrous things Tiller did under color of law become unthinkable once again. The place to begin, certainly, is to use our influence to see that the next Supreme Court justice understands that the primary purpose of the legal system is to protect the unalienable right to life. More here.
Question: Do you think the strong denouncements of George Tiller’s murder by pro-life groups are sincere?
I hadn’t been to Mallards since a random Mother’s Day approximately ten years ago, and the 
place remains unchanged. The long aisles of floral upholstered chairs and mirrored walls still exude a vague sense of 80’s high class, but a tell-tale layer of dust and drear makes the place cry for an update. Still, the huge bay windows face a gorgeous view of the Spokane River and provide some sunlight in the otherwise drab neo-Victorian space. We crept in during the lull between lunch and dinner on a weekday and had the entire silent dining room to ourselves. I flipped open my menu long enough to spot the magic words “Monte Cristo.” Finally, a coup!/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. More here.
Question: Which waterside restaurant has a better environment for dining — Dockside or Mallards? And/or: Which restaurant would you like to see OTV review next?
Nanci Brum, 62, of Post Falls in the heat treat department at Buck Knives in Post Falls on Wednesday. Buck Knives recently launched an initiative called the “American Commitment,” with the primary focus on making as many knives as possible in the Post Falls plant and reducing offshore outsourcing, which at its peak totaled half of all knives. Story here. KATHY PLONKA kathypl@spokesman.com
Taryn A Hecker Photography & Bent’s Beer Garden’s Inaugural Summer Cookoff! 3-8 p.m. Saturday, June 20 at 32539 N. 4th, Spirit Lake. Promises to be a good time. Bent is signing up folks for the BBQ cookoff. Several folks are bringing side dishes, including Herb with his infamous potato salad. It’s a family-friendly affair. I don’t get to socialize much out here in Spirit Lake, so I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone.
Question: Who’s going to attend?
Among the measures awaiting his approval was House Bill 374, authored by Otter’s most over-the-top foe, Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene. Nonini had been gavelled down in the House for firing hot words at Otter. In his end-of-session press conference, Otter said he suspected some of those who “attacked my integrity” in debate “would want to retract some of those words. But once spoken, it’s like trying to unring a bell.” Was Otter threatening a veto? “No comment,” he replied tersely, suggesting he was still ticked but allowing himself room to think. Ten days later, Otter quietly signed Nonini’s bill on virtual schools. … Nonini’s temper got the better of him at least twice this year, once with Otter and another time with Little. That prompted a new Statehouse shorthand for such outbursts, “Going Nonini”/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Is it plus or a minus to have a representative with a temper who has attracted the ire of the state’s governor?
Item: New size brings content, design changes to S-R/Editor Gary Graham, SR
More Info: Welcome to the new-look Spokesman-Review. The paper you’re holding is narrower than it used to be. The change is a cost-cutting measure, but we also believe readers will find the compact size easier to handle and read. The new size prompted us to make a number of content improvements, which we’ll roll out this week. Today, for example, marks the debut of Northwest Exchange, a community news page focusing on local newsmakers, reader comments and the week ahead. The Today section launches a column on activities for parents and children as well as a daily TV column.
Question: What impression do you have of the smaller Spokesman-Review that you found on your doorstep or on the news stand today?
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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