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Archive for May 2009
Huckleberries Online will be rolling again tomorrow morning when I return from an 11-day vacation. You’ll want to be here to talk about that change in the SR that’s coming to your doorstep Monday. Also, it sounds as though plans are under way for a shindig at Taryn’s place in Spirit Lake to welcome in the summer that will feature Bent’s brew and Herb’s potato salad. Dunno if it has a name yet. But it should be fun, for card-carrying Hucksters. With the beautiful weather and Wild Card-only days this weekend, things have been slow here. But that’s change at 8 Monday morning. Now, for your last vacation Wild Card …
I hope I got the day right this time. I’ve been busy in the garden and with a paint brush, enjoying the sun as much as I can before I return to Huckleberries Central on Monday to fire up the blog again and to listen to all your complaints that I should run HBO like CindyH did in my absence. I already know what one of the topics will be Monday. You subscribers will find it on your door steps. Also, I hear that one of the Not-So-OpenCDA.com gang has been tailing the mayor, camera in hand, trying to catch her parking overlong in Sherman Avenue places. DanG’s Gang is always good for a chuckle or two on a late spring day. But I’ll don’t want to think about such things today. I’ll think of the day after tomorrow. Meanwhile, here’s your 10th of 11 vacation Wild Cards …
Councilman MikeK and I had a good time on the panel re: electronic media at Leadership Coeur d’Alene’s 2009 Media Day Thursday. I’d tell you what we said that drew the biggest laughs. But I’m prevented from doing so by Leadership Coeur d’Alene’s Media Rule. Which sez that Leadership Coeur d’Alene sessions are off the record. I imagine, however, that some of the jabs we took will get back to the targets, especially the one in which I said that the CdA Press is using “free speech” as an excuse to get by on the cheap by relying on volunteer monitors rather than paid staff to filter comments that are racist and/or inappropriate. I said it twice to drill the point home. I wish I could tell you about the clever jabs MikeK got in. But I’m stymied by the Media rule. Alas. Now, for your 9th of 11 Wild Cards (and as many Hat Tips to CindyH, who is drawing rave reviews as a fill-in) …
If you get this: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/29/scientists-find-new-killer-virus-in-africa/
You probably shouldn’t take this: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/28/acetaminophens-liver-risks-understated-fda-report/
What’s your cure for what ails you?
I spent a few days in downtown Seattle recently. I love big city life. I enjoy the hustle and the bustle and the anonymity of blending in with the crowds. I love being able to walk everywhere, and the quiet oasises you find in the midst of urban sprawl. Alas, the condos across from my hotel were going for $600,000 to $6 million. A bit steep for my pocketbook. So, instead of downtown Seattle, I’m going to be renting an office in downtown Spokane for the summer. It will have to do.
I have a feeling I’m in the minority among Hucksters. Which lifestyle do you prefer, country life or city life?
“… investigators and Spokane health officials fear the number of sex partners Zuriel Roush exposed to the virus could be as high as 80. If that’s true, the case could create an unprecedented health problem for the Inland Northwest.” http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/29/dozens-may-face-hiv-risk/
So why in 2009, do people still engage in unprotected sex– with strangers?
That’s what the sign on the back of the white Dodge Ram pickup said. “PMS Mobile Unit: I Fix It,” and a phone number. I followed the truck east on 29th until he cut me off, and made a sharp right turn. Which ticked me off. Now I don’t have the number and I’ll never know how the fellow in the baseball cap fixes PMS.
I suspect chocolate may have something to do with it.
What do you think?
I’ve always wondered what unnatural gas is.
Anyhow, here’s some good news: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/28/avista-customers-will-see-rate-reduction/
A five-year-old Cougar cheerleader in training: http://wsu-online.blogspot.com/#0
Do you know the words to your alma mater’s fight song? I thought ours was “We are the Champions.” Maybe Queen stole it?
In Idaho news, downtown CDA’s profile keeps rising, but school budgets are falling.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/29/cda-office-building-will-feature-lake-view/
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/29/idaho-school-districts-declaring-emergencies/
Work, of sorts, beckons this morning as I will be part of a discussion panel with Councilman Mike K for Leadership Coeur d’Alene re: the electronic media. I signed up before I decided to take a week and a half off. I had to cancel an online discussion with U.S. Sen. Jim Risch on Wednesday. But I didn’t want to leave the Leadership Coeur d’Alene organizers in a lurch. I was part of the first Leadership Coeur d’Alene class, in 1985. Jim Coleman/JUB, banker Allen Baldridge, insurance broker Bob McNabb & Marilyn Deutsch/Jacklin Seed were part of my class. The goal of Leadership Coeur d’Alene is to introduce future community leaders to movers and shakers involved in a variety of important tasks, from education and transportation to local government and media. Some of my class went on to bigger and better things. Others moved from the area. I’m still trying to make something of myself. Now, for your 8th of 11 vacation wild cards …
When Aram Langhans asked the Yakima Heart Center to remove his Social Security number from their files, his request had unexpected consequences: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/27/patient-denied-treatment-over-social-security/
When was the last time you were asked for your SS number? Have you ever refused the request?
Cabbage Boy on May 28 at 10:47 a.m.
“Sad thing is there are many kids who probably have learned their “history” from Disney. No need for revisionist history when you have entertainment history already indoctrinated.”
“I know, CB. Bambi ruined a lot of potential hunters, too. Bad people (not just white).”
History. Hunting. Has Disney ruined anything else?
Wiener dog races, singing Chihuahuas, pet portraits and animal massage. What could be more fun? http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/28/event-for-all-furries-family/
Alas, Milo is strictly an indoor cat and too young to attend this event. Where do you hang out with your pets?
“The federal government has handed over ownership of an 80-year-old courthouse to Kootenai County.” More here: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/28/old-courthouse-given-kootenai-county/
Thoughts?
“Pencils seem to be made more cheaply than they used to be. Quite often the lead is not in the center of the pencil. This yields a poorly sharpened pencil that has wood on one side.” Full comment here: http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/2009/may/27/little-tiny-tables/#comments
Anything else they don’t make like they used to?
I’m still a little sore from moving my piano Friday. We got a new sofa. You know what that means– time to rearrange the furniture. Only thing is, I’m NOT a visual person. I have to move each piece to see if I like it there or not. This drives the men in my home crazy, so I send them away and do it all myself. The antique piano is on wheels, but still it is very heavy. I didn’t move it far :-)
How about the rest of you? Are you visual? Can you imagine the way you want something to look and have it turn out that way?
You know how I know when I’m in the Vacation Zone? When I forget which day it is. Obviously, that happened yesterday — when I posted a Wild Card for Monday. Cindy caught me. And I’m so laid back that I didn’t correct the mistake when I read about it. I haven’t been checking in much. You’re in very good hands. And I continue to be indebted to Cindy for stepping in. Tuesday, I bought 4 flats of flowers, from $5.50 to $8 per flat, from a produce place that popped up near Cenex on Government Way. So I’m well on my way to finishing the garden this week. I’ll toss in some veggies sometime this week to complete the annual garden production. Then, I’ll kick back and enjoy everything else around here that celebrates our glorious summers. It looks like the weather will be cooperating through the weekend for outside fun. Now, for your Wednesday Wild Card. It is Wednesday, right?
For some of us, summertime=yard work. With 4 sons, 3 of them teens, it’s been a long time since I’ve mowed a lawn. But, there’s weeding, and edging, and trimming, and did I mention weeding? Maybe we should forget the grass and go for one of those all rock front lawns.
So, what’s your yard work philosophy?
* Pristine and green.
* What yard?
* Better Homes & Gardens cover-worthy.
* Weeding is my form of Zen meditation.
* Low-maintenance. I share my dandelions with the neighborhood.
* Yard work? That’s what yard care companies are for.
* Other
“The University of Idaho is spending nearly $400,000 a year to support three employees in New Mexico without any oversight, an electrical engineering professor at the school says.”
UI professor questions money spent in New Mexico
Thoughts?
I can barely figure out my MP3 player, so I think I’ll pass on the Zune: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/27/microsoft-adds-touch-screen-web-browser-zune/
What’s on your playlist today?
More sunshine, just in time for my lobster bisque look to deepen to ruby red. http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/27/expect-sunny-weather-all-week/
And the Spokane Park Board approved discount passes for frequent pool users: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/27/park-board-approves-discount-pool-passes/
Where’s your favorite place to swim?
So my bank was bought by another bank. New decor. New checks. And new tables in the lobby. You know— the tables containing deposit/withdrawal slips. The tables with the awful, awkward pens tied to some kind of unbending plastic wire. However, the big New York bank sent my local branch little, tiny tables. Tables so small that only ONE person can use them at a time. Two if yer feeling friendly. There’s no privacy, no place to put your purse, and even the calculators are miniscule. That’s my pet peeve today. What’s yours?
OTV looks for waterfalls but dines with Cabbage Patch dolls instead: http://getoutnorthidaho.blogspot.com/2009/05/panhandle-cafe.html
Jeanie fondly remembers Oscar— the oven mitt: http://www.jeaniespokane.blogspot.com/
Silver Valley Girl shares about her close encounters of the family kind: http://silvervalleystories.blogspot.com/2009/05/close-encounters.html
Mrs. Mac shares a wonderful Nathan story: http://scentedgeranium.blogspot.com/2009/05/all-in-good-time.html
And Marianne Love writes of Man and Birds: http://slightdetour.blogspot.com/2009/05/of-man-and-birds.html
In the Bad News Department: Kootenai property values fall for the second straight year: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/27/overall-kootenai-property-values-fall/
The Mariners lose from ahead— again: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/27/mariners-lose-from-ahead-again/
And my cat, Milo learned how to unroll toilet paper. Lots of toilet paper. If you’ve got some good news to share we’d love to hear it.
As Cis pointed out, it’s actually been Tuesday— all day. Let’s not tell DFO.
Cindy’s right that I’m in full vacation mode. I have been since I sat for a hours on Cannon Beach in the shadow of Haystack Rock Saturday and Sunday. We spent the weekend on the Oregon Coast. And I put in four hours at Powell’s Book Store on Friday. It’s hard to go wrong with that combination. Toss in a viewing of the action thriller “Angels & Demons” and the company of two of my 3 favorite sweethearts — Mrs. O & Amy Dearest — and I had a wonderful time away these past five days. Now, I have to turn my thoughts toward the honey-do list. Which starts with planting the garden and a little interior painting. I’ll be in town the rest of the week. But I don’t return to work until June 1. Now, for the Monday Wild Card …
I guess I’m old-fashioned, but when I was a kid we used to study at the library. Of course some of us may have hid the Joy of Sex inside our geography books, but still…
“A boy hoping to scour the Internet for pornography and steal computer equipment was arrested Monday at the the Post Falls Public Library, police said.” http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/26/police-porn-theft-lured-boy-library/
In theory, I love the idea of a garden. In reality, I hate the work. For me, the next best thing is a Farmer’s Market like this one: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/26/colbert-farmers-market-thrives/
Tell us about your favorite Farmer’s Market.
“The California Supreme Court upheld a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage Tuesday, but it also decided that the estimated 18,000 gay couples who tied the knot before the law took effect will stay wed.”
Full story here: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/26/calif-high-court-upholds-gay-marriage-ban/
Locally, two rallies will be staged to protest the decision: Spokane: 5 p.m. at City Hall, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. Moscow: 8 p.m. at Friendship Square
What do you think about the court’s decision? Surprised?
My 78-year-old mother shared this tidbit with me. Apparently, one of her friends is an avid watcher of TLC’s Jon & Kate Plus 8. At their recent Bible Study, this 80+ lady shared a prayer request. She asked that the group remember Jon and Kate in their prayers. It seems they’re having marital difficulties. http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/25/marriage-woes-add-to-draw-of-jon-kate/
“Well,” said my mother. “Why not? They are real people.”
Just how real is reality TV?
“President Barack Obama chose federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor as the nation’s first Hispanic Supreme Court justice on Tuesday, praising her as “an inspiring woman” with both the intellect and compassion to interpret the Constitution wisely.” http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/26/obama-picks-sotomayor-high-court/
Thoughts about Obama’s choice?
For those of us whose skin may have turned lobster-bisquish over the weekend– what’s your tried and true sunburn remedy?
Honest George left this thought-provoking comment yesterday: “Every day of this 3 day weekend I flew the American Flag. After 55 years as a member of the VFW and 33 years in the military it was a natural thing to do - not an effort, not an ‘affected’ action - just a thing that always felt right to do because it causes me to focus on the hardships and sacrifice that I’ve seen my fellow Americans give…My wife and I traveled around Lewiston doing various weekend things and I was really taken aback in that I saw one other flag displayed…
What is it with us and the flag? Why is it important to display it at various times and to honor it in various ways? We each should answer that ourselves but it appears that much of our patriotism is a mile wide and an inch deep. I really don’t know if it DOES matter anymore to anyone else, except that I feel something important is slipping away.” Read full comment here: http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/2009/may/25/memorial-day-wild-card/#comments
With his comment in mind I counted flags on my carpool run this morning. I saw 6 flags displayed at homes, 4 at businesses and 1 at the school. Is Spokane more patriotic than Lewiston? Do you display the flag at your home or business? Why or why not?
I was going to post this tomorrow, but it’s too good to wait. At Notes on a Napkin, Katrina shares tips on how to survive the coming Apocalypse. Read the full post here:
http://notesonanapkin.wordpress.com/2009/05/22/how-to-survive-the-apocalypse/
1. Arm yourself. Apocalypses come in all varieties–nuclear, pandemic, mechanized, and, of course, zombie**–so the type of weapons you’ll need may vary according to the threat.
2. Dress for success. Almost anything can be incorporated into post-apocalyptic couture: chest armor made out of hubcaps, discarded aviator goggles, fraying sweaters patched together with wire torn from now useless computer consoles.
3. Acquire transportation. Think “all-terrain”.
4. Get some skills. You definitely can’t survive the apocalypse without useful skills. Unfortunately, there’s no way of knowing ahead of time which skills will be useful in your individual circumstances.
5. Group up. Look for other survivors. But be cautious. Before throwing in with the first fellow refugees you see, observe them carefully to make sure they are not a) insane, b) violent criminals, or c) insufferably annoying.
6. Start accumulating SPAM. As my brother-in-law pointed out to me, SPAM is truly the lynchpin of post-apocalyptic survival.
Can you think of any other Doomsday Survival Tips? I think I’d add: Get Buff. Look at Linda Hamilton’s arms. The end of the world is all about survival of the fittest right?
Apparently, DFO is taking this whole vacation thing seriously. He didn’t even leave a Wild Card for today! So here’s one for those who are indoors or can figure out how to combine blogging with lake activities and barbecuing. We visited my Dad’s grave at Fairmont Memorial Park yesterday. The view from the bluff is spectacular and the acres of flags never fail to move me.
You can’t miss her ads. Seems like she’s been everywhere promoting diet books or seminars like “Sexy Hormones.” However according to yesterday’s story, Dr. Hart is curtailing her hormone business: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/24/physician-curtails-hormone-business/
Have any Hucksters attended one of Cheryle Hart’s seminars? What do you think about physicians who market themselves this aggressively?
JimmyMac has issued a Barbecue challenge. Bent and Mia have signed on. Any other takers? This could be legendary.
JIMMYMAC on May 22 at 12:34 p.m.
I smell a HBO BBQ challenge coming on. Let me know if any of you want a shot at the title.
I’m game for a BBQ challenge JimmyMac.
I am with Mia … Bring. It. On. Baa. Bee.And it better be you’re “A Game” because I am known in BBQ circles. Hey, maybe we could tie in a BBQ cook-off with the beer tasting at Taryn’s studio on June 20th! I was just going to BBQ some snacks for that event, but a cook-off would be blast…
Is anyone else game for that? I’ll bring my charcoal BBQ/smoker, and I’ll even throw on some portabellas for the stickman.
Taryn Hecker on May 24 at 10:00 a.m.
Thanks for the heads up, Bent. I’ve been waitressing all weekend so not been online all that much. (For anyone looking for some good eats this holiday weekend check out Spirit Lake’s Fireside. Only open holiday weekends. I’ll be there honing my waitress skills some more). I’ve rounded up a few more folks who are planning to be here on June 20 and I’ll have the studio up and running for anyone who wants to partake in some portrait specials. I’ll have some appetizers and some vegetarian salads to go with or without the bbq fare and some non-alcoholic beverages. This is gonna be a blast :)
In the comments section Friday, Shoshone Conservative asked if he needed to learn a secret handshake to get his link added to the local blogroll at Huckleberries Online. Actually, it’s much simpler than that. All you have to do is to remind me to add the link when I return from vacation June 1. Adding a link takes about 2 minutes. I posted a new link from Midnight Marauder in the moments before I signed off for vacation Wednesday. She’s a sister to A Butterfly Moment. You can find her link in the right rail. I require one thing to keep links on my blogrolls. The blogger should post something at least once a week. If I haven’t seen a post for a month, I remove the link. Now that we have reviewed the rules, it’s time to drop another Wild Card on you and to return to enjoying the Memorial Day Weekend …
Another round of applause for CindyH, for getting Huckleberries Online through another vacation day in decent shape. When this vacation is over, I’m going to owe her all kinds of front-page play. From here on, the crickets may take over because we’re headed into a three-day weekend then a short week beyond. The only thing on my vacation schedule that smacks of work at all — besides Mrs. O’s honey-do list — is a panel appearance with Councilman MikeK for a blog session at the annual Leadership Coeur d’Alene Media Day on Thursday. I’ll probably be so laid back and relaxed in my vacation mode that I’ll simply kick back, smile, and let Mike do all the talking. Meanwhile, here’s your first Memorial Day Weekend Wild Card …
I’ve delivered paintball weaponry with no arrests or explosions. Now, I’m off to join the masses at Costco to stock up on BBQ supplies. Play nicely. Cindy
Good golly, Ms. Cindy. Pleaz join me in a standing O for CindyH. Who did a dyne-oh!-mite job pinch-hitting for me on Thursday. Cindy asked on my way out the door, if she could post a few things. I said, sure. And didn’t think anything else about it until Thursday evening when I checked in here. And saw her conversation starters and thread comments. She has the touch to do this thing. I guess I’m safe until she has her kids raised. Then, they’ll put me out to pasture and fill the vacancy with Cindy Lou. I still have a few years. So I should be able to retire gracefully. Seriously, though, I deeply appreciate what she did here Thursday. And just as seriously, she has the ability to make a blog sing. I deeply appreciate Cindy’s efforts to hold things together a bit for a day or two. I’ve always wondered how to get Huckleberries through the down periods when I’m on vacation. Mebbe this is part of the answer. I’ll certainly sleep easier tonight. Now, for the second vacation Wild Card …
Having somehow misplaced DFO’s secret super-special blog roll formula I’m endeavoring to invent one of my own. Here we go:
Jen and family have seen the light and adopted some new family memembers: http://abutterflymoment.blogspot.com/
Bent has unearthed an important new beer study: http://bentsbeergarden.blogspot.com/
Raymond Pert shares 3 beautiful things, including awkward family photos: http://kelloggbloggin.blogspot.com/
Liz tells us more about dog tampons than you’ll ever want to know: http://mylifesafreakshow.blogspot.com/
Marmie’s boy flies the coop: http://marmitetoasty.blogspot.com/
And that’s all I have time for. Maybe more later :-)
I’m a big fan of the original Terminator movie, the others not so much. Do we really need a fourth? How many of you are planning to see it?
chatterbox on May 22 at 10:50 a.m.
Chilian Sea Bass. Blackened for the hubby & birthday boy (who turns 16 today)…maybe a little lemon pepper for me. The stomach is a little queasy today. 2nd round of chemo yesterday.
Please join me in keeping Chatterbox in our thoughts and prayers.
This headline caught my eye: “Poor are most generous givers” http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/22/poor-are-most-generous-givers/
The story states:
“In fact, America’s poor donate more, in percentage terms, than higher-income groups do, surveys of charitable giving show. What’s more, their generosity declines less in hard times than the generosity of richer givers does.”
Why is this? Is it the empathy factor, or is it the more “stuff” we have the less we want to share?
“Firemen control the fire of a burning falla during the traditional Fallas festival in Valencia, Spain, in the early hours of Friday, March 20, 2009. Every year the city of Valencia celebrates the ancient “Las Fallas” fiesta, a noisy week that is full of fireworks and processions in honor of Saint Joseph that ends in the midnight of March 19, burning large paper mache satiric figures displayed around the streets of the city.”
Enter your cutline below.
My son Sam has a very complicated answer to this question: ”What do you want to be when you grow up?”
He wants to be a columnist for the Spokesman Review (doesn’t that just make you weep?), move to New York and be an actor, then move to Hollywood and direct movies, then move to Arizona (Arizona! Who’d move there?) and write children’s books. Seattle figures somewhere in the plan to0, but I can’t remember where.
What did/do you want to be when you grow up? Me? I have both the jobs I ever really wanted, mom and writer. I just wish the pay was better.
I’m not a morning person. My kids should know this by now. Yet earlier, my 17-year-old son stood over my somnolent form and gave me detailed instructions about a gym bag filled with paintball guns and ammo. “I put them in your… Meet me in front of the …. And whatever you do don’t let…. get too hot…the CO2 tanks will explode.”
Explode. What? Huh? I removed my pillow from over my face and struggled to a sitting position, but he was gone.
Any of you folks paintball? Am I in danger of being shot by exploding paint when I run my errands this afternoon?
I hate mornings.
Anyone surprised by this latest turn of events? http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/22/grand-jury-indicts-ex-cougar-leaf/
What happened to this once rising star?
If I ran the blog there’d be fireman calendar photos every day. Alas, so far I’ve only been able to figure out how to post S-R archived photos. When I searched for fireman pics all I got were yellow-jacketed, boot clad, helmeted fellows actually doing their job. You know. Putting out fires.
Sigh.
What would you do if you ran HBO?
Memorial Day weekend is traditionally when folks fire up their barbecues for their first time. Not us. We bbq all year long. Well, except for this year when the grill got buried beneath several feet of snow. That put a crimp in the cookouts.
So what will be on your grill this weekend?
* Hamburgers
* Hot Dogs
* Steak
* Chicken
* Other
Are you worried about how the upcoming Fourth Street repairs will affect you or the businesses you frequent?
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/21/cda-businesses-prepare-street-work/
Moving this up top and going out to walk off spam stress :-)
Cindy
As bad as I need a vacation, it’s a poor time to take one because Huckleberries is finally in full recovery mode, page-view wise. The counter has been clicking along between 7000 and 8000 for two weeks now. Before we switched to the new system, HBO was running in the 8500+ range. Registration and the new blogware knocked that down to 5000 in January. We’ve now cut the losses from 40% down to about 15%. Meanwhile, the unique views are climbing to the old range. By the time I get back June 1, it’ll be almost summer. Which means blog doldrums for three months. But I don’t want to think about that now, I’ll think about that after vacation. After all, we’re going to have fun with this year’s city mayoral and council races in the fall. Right, Sandi? Right, MikeK? Right, DanG? CindyH said she might sneak in here to post a coupla things while I’m gone. Be kind to here. Now, I’m off to bed with a full list of honey-do’s waiting for me in the morning. Here’s your Wild Card …
HBO Sleepwear Poll Results: Skivvies win by a narrow margin. Out of 104 respondents 33% said they sleep in their undies while 32% say they sleep nekkid. Only one voter admitted to sleeping in lingerie. We hope to identify him later.
No thanks. I’m horribly claustrophobic. You know the yellow submarine at Disneyland? Can’t do it. The thought of shooting into the atmosphere in a tiny cylinder with no quick trip home makes me woozy. And the beverage service sucks.
Yet Bent says, “As for drinking recycled urine, heck I would drink my dog’s urine straight if they would let me fly space shuttle into space!” If you didn’t have to drink Bent’s dog’s urine, would you boldly go?
Says OTV: “…the only thing worse than bad TV is people on their high horse crowing about how so above watching bad TV they are. Be honest, y’all have guilty pleasures too.”
Well. Do you?
Don’t know nothing ‘bout this, having never watched the show, but folks are buzzing about last night’s American Idol upset http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/21/viewers-make-arkansan-an-unexpected-idol/
I know OTV, won’t be pleased by this turn of events. Anyone else surprised?
Look. It was either adopt a kitty or have another baby. I went with the more affordable option. Are you a dog person a cat person or a petless person?
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/21/smitten-not-fooled-by-furry-bundle-of-joy/
Evidently, the economic crisis has hit NASA hard. These poor astronauts must have been awfully thirsty: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/21/astronauts-toast-nasa-ingenuity-sip-recycled-urine/
I’m all for recycling, but thoughts of a sweat and urine cocktail make me queasy.
Would you drink recycled urine? What’s the most unusual drink you’ve consumed?
I’m done here until June 1. I’m looking forward to gardening, visiting the lake, and enjoying our little part of paradise, sandwiched around the times that I can sneak away from Mrs. O’s list of honey-do’s. I don’t get to enjoy the Inland Northwest as much as I would like to. I’ll post Wild Cards while I’m on vacation. And I’m sure some of you (thanks, Marmitetoasty) will comment on those open threads that it must be nice to live such a life of riley. Indeed, it is. Thanks for the way you’ve helped me rebuild Huckleberries Online since the switch to the new blogware. It’s onward and upward when I get back. Until then, I’ll re-play this Wild Card and …
JoMarie Francis, Sue Pupo and James Bowman (JoMarie’s grandson) toast at the Doug Clark bench. Spokane Mayor Mary Verner has changed her mind and withdrawn her demand for all bus benches with ads to be removed by next Tuesday. More here. (Courtesy of Sue Pupo)
Coburn’s bill goes far beyond what the Bush administration tried to do, which was to allow loaded, concealed weapons in parks for people with concealed carry permits. That was disturbing enough to former park officials and park rangers, and for a federal judge who blocked implementation on the rule because none of the required environmental review had been done before the government tried to enact it. Coburn’s bill goes as far as to allow openly carried rifles, shotguns, and even semi-automatic weapons in parks, depending on whether the weapon is in compliance with state law/Joan McCarter, New West. More here.
Question: Should visitors to our national parks be allowed to carry guns?
The 14-year-old Caldwell boy accused of killing his father last weekend “absolutely” will not face the death penalty, but further investigation into his motive is needed before the Canyon County prosecutor decides what sentence to seek, Prosecutor John Bujak said Wednesday. Story here.
Jesse Tinsley/SR who snapped this photo on the freeway e-mails that the individual behind the wheel had no illusions re: the type of vehicle s/he was driving.
Question: Were you ever — or are you now — forced to drive a vehicle that you considered to be a “tin can”?
At 8:46 a.m. A tree has fallen on a logger in the Burma Road & Emerald Drive area, east of Turner Bay on Lake Coeur d’Alene, near Harrison. Possible fatality. Update: Emergency responders have had difficulty locating a contact person to take them to the site. They finally found one about 9:15 a.m. Update 2: Law enforcement now on scene. Update 3 @ 12:40 p.m.: Sheriff declares adult male dead in logging accident and are now trying to notify next of kin.
My best guess as to why a small group of people here are receiving the messages is this: Years ago, when HBO first started back on the old website, we used to allow commenters to 
include their email addresses with their comment signatures. This was entirely optional, and provided so that commenters could offer a way for other commenters to contact them if they wanted to. Several years ago, we removed that option, and entirely quit displaying commenters’ email address. We collected them for verification purposes, and so Dave would have a way to contact people, but we did not display email addresses anywhere. We didn’t want anyone to inadvertently give the wrong people — be it a spammer or anyone else — their personal email address/Blogmeister Ryan. Full post below. Second thread here (including explanation of the attack on Hotmail by an inside techie).
In a post from earlier in the day, Cis/Simple Mind asked what to explain what I do each day. And suggest that I interact more here on the blog. She also mentioned that I’ve become more of a 
zookeeper than an involved participant on the front page of this blog. First things first, I have only two brief periods in the day when I’m not engaged in full-time blogging on the front page or looking for things to post. Those roundups take a lot of time (35-45 minutes for HBO’s Inland Northwest, for example.) The two brief periods run from 10:30 to 11:15 and from 2:30 to 3 of 3:30, if I’m caught up on my print column duties. I rarely take a lunch hour. The end-of-the day duties (scanner traffic, cutline contest, pm headlines, parting shot, and an evening feature) take about 75 minutes. As far as interacting more, I’ve been trained not to do so. I don’t have time to engage in a long debate with someone on a controversial issue. Also, my posts and thoughts re: controversial issue tends to fan fears of hard-core partisans that I’m not being fair to their side. So I’ve encountered a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t situation. I try to cull far-ranging, entertaining posts from a variety of sources rather than promote my own ideas as I once did. The increasing traffic shows that the new formula is working. I’ll join in the fray when I feel comfortable enough to do so again — DFO.
I’m going to take a break from blogging for a week and a half, beginning tomorrow. I wished I knew a way to keep things going here in my absence, other than posting Wild Cards. But I don’t. I know you Berry Pickers don’t like my vacations. But it’s one of the perks that haven’t been affected by cutbacks. Frankly, if I didn’t have the break from online world, I don’t think I could do this for the 5-plus years that i have. If anyone has ideas re: how to get through my vacations — another should be coming in midsummer and the final one at the end of the year — please let me know. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to gardening and enjoying this beautiful part of the country for the next 10 days or so.
This photo provided by FOX shows from left, finalists Adam Lambert and Kris Allen with host Ryan Seacrest during American Idol on Tuesday in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/ FOX, Frank Micelotta) Question: America will learn the identity of the next “American Idol” tonight. Who do you think it should be?
The boat was named Hello, but there was no further description of the vessel or the vehicle that was towing it. Alerts were issued to area marinas and law enforcement, including the Bonner County Sheriff’s marine patrol. Word of the sighting in Utah also appeared on the Idaho Conservation League blog, a post which other Web sites linked to. Juker said somebody spotted one of the posts on the Web, recalled seeing the boat in Spokane and alerted authorities/Keith Kinnaird, Bonner County Bee. More here.
DFO: Arpie brought this Bonner County Bee story to my attention, with the note: “I think a Berry Picker spotted the boat.” Susan Drumheller/Idaho Conservation League e-mailed a link from her blog to the story yesterday. And it was posted here. H/T to whoever saw the story and spotted the boat. Also could be someone who reads Pecky’s blog.
I love to travel. I love the memories, and whenever I travel, I figure the money spent is one of 
the best investments of life. Yes, it’s expensive at the time, but traveling is truly the gift that keeps on giving until the day we die. I cannot remember a trip I’ve ever taken that has failed to provide me vivid images and recollections that I can tap at a moment’s notice. Some of those trips go back more than 50 years. All the Sunday drives to Montana, sitting on the hump in the back seat between two brothers, the occasional hand-outs from the box of bacon thins held by the front-seat guard–and the outdoor potty stops in the wet grass–those were great times. Well, at least they seem to be now as I think back on them/Marianne Love, Slight Detour. More here.
Question: Do you travel much? Where? How has traveling affected your life?
A cat walks in a field of crimson clover growing on a ranch near Elkton, Ore., last week. (AP Photo/The News-Review/Robin Loznak)
“C’mon girls. C’mon,” Mike Vieira calls out his evening invitation to the ladies in black and white at Spokane’s Family Farm. “C’mon,” he repeats, walking into the pasture, “C’mon. Let’s go.” Visitors make the “girls” hesitate slightly, but they eventually oblige and line up behind the barn door for the evening milking. It’s a ritual repeated twice daily at the farm 13 miles west of Spokane where Mike and Trish Vieira bottle up to 2,000 gallons of milk each week. “This is what everyone thinks of when they think of a dairy,” Mike Vieira says. The couple began milking cows a little over a month ago, after spending the winter retrofitting the 100-year-old barn with modern milking and pasteurizing equipment and preparing for the arrival of the Holstein cows/Lorie Hutson, SR. More here.
Question: Have you ever milked a cow by hand?
This image provided by Suzanne Davis on Saturday shows Fin Keheler, 11, of Sandy, Utah, attempting to break the world record for the number of snails placed on the face for 10 seconds, during an attempt in Sandy Utah. Keheler is hoping to have the attempt verified by the Guinness Book of World Records. (AP Photo/Suzanne Davis)
CindyH: The warm weekend weather prompted me to sleep er, ah … in the altogether. Something I don’t do a lot, due to the amount of teenage boys in my home on any given evening. However, now it’s rare to have someone come into our room for a drink of water or for comfort after a bad dream, and sleeping bare may once again become an option. What kind of nighttime apparel to Hucksters wear?
With news today that the Pentagon has no plans to repeal the don’t ask-don’t tell policy for gay service members, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow interviewed decorated Air Force pilot Lt. Colonel Victor Fehrenbach who is being discharged under that policy. As stated in this first public appearance, Lt Col Fehrenbach is stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base and is being discharged after 18 years of active duty, 88 combat missions, 2,180 total flight hours, 1,487 fighter hours and 400 combat hours. Oh yeah, and after roughly $25 million in training/MountainGoat Report. Video here.
Question: Do you expect the Obama administration to get involved in this situation?
In the business section today, the CdA Press reports that Village at Riverstone will have a closeout auctin for 36 condominiums June 14. Prices begin at $180,000 to $490,000 on quality condos that previously were priced at $329,000 to $899,900, with square footage ranging from 792 to 2,002. Kennedy Wilson of Beverly Hills will do the auctioneering duties.
Question: What do you make of this closeout sale? And/or: Would you be interested in living in a Riverstone condo?
Young visitors pose in front of an illusionary art work of a gorilla with its mouth wide open that is drawn at the corner of an exhibition room at the Trick Art Museum at the foot of Mount Takao on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, recently. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
That got Jones thinking. What his friend did is what people have been doing for millennia: pointing out the richest man in town. Sometimes people just want to know out of curiosity; other times it’s because they think such proximity to wealth might present an opportunity. And, of course, the scale of the wealth in question might vary widely. What might pass for rich in a small town in Georgia may seem like a rounding error when compared with the net worth of billionaires such as Microsoft (MSFT) founder Bill Gates or Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRKA) Warren Buffett/BusinessWeek. More here. H/T: Trish Gannon.
Question: Do you think Duane Hagadone is the richest person in Coeur d’Alene? Who’s in second place? Who do you think is the richest person in your town?
Item: PETA’s Minnie Mouse in a bikini protests mouse glue traps in Spokane Valley/KREM
More Info: Protestors from the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) were set up outside the Spokane Valley Lowe’s Tuesday protesting glue traps used to catch mice. A woman dressed in a red bikini with mouse ears—supposedly to look like Minnie Mouse—spent part of the day lying in a giant glue trap outside the store. PETA wants Lowe’s to stop selling those mouse traps, which they call inhumane.
Question: Do you care how a mouse dies in your house, as long as it dies?
Question: How do you read these results? Were voters in a “throw-the-bums-out” mood? Did the last-minute flap involving yard signs help or hurt the Purtee/Seymour ticket in the CdA school trustee races?
According to a new national survey by GMAC Insurance, Idaho drivers are tied (with Wisconsin) for best in the nation in their driving knowledge - performance on the written test for a driver’s license. This isn’t new drivers; it’s existing ones. The annual survey polled 5,183 licensed drivers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, asking them 20 questions taken from state driver exams. Idaho drivers’ average score was 80.6 percent; just 5.7 percent of Idaho respondents failed, scoring under 70 percent. Nationally, 20.1 percent of licensed drivers failed the test/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Are you surprised that Idaho drivers rank at the top of the US in driving knowledge?
This image provided by ABC-TV shows from left: Melissa Rycroft, Tony Dovolani, Shawn Johnson, Mark Ballas, Cheryl Burke and Gilles Marini on Dancing with the Stars Monday. Shawn Johnson, the 17-year-old gymnast, was named “Dancing With the Stars” champion Tuesday during the season finale of the hit ABC show, the third Olympian in eight seasons to win. Story here. (AP Photo/ABC/KELSEY MCNEAL)
Question (for “Dancing With The Stars” fans): Did you right couple win the competition?
In the HBO Poll Tuesday, incumbents Edie Brooks and Bill Hemenway had an easier time against challengers than they did at the Coeur d’Alene School District polls. Of 111 votes cast, Brooks captured 47 and Hemenway 41 to show they were easily preferred here over challengers James Purtee (11) and Terri Seymour (12). In the unofficial actual count, Brooks won by 7 over Purtee and Seymour by about 40 over Seymour.
RE: Nampa ‘sexter’ could face charges
Aliasjax:
Explain to her that exposing her breasts is not the worst thing in the
world. In fact, only in America and a very few other prudish countries
are a woman’s breasts that big of a deal. Then maybe send her on a
vacation where she can sunbathe topless to help her get over her
artificial religious-cultural induced shame. Then, when she gets home,
help her understand that most American teenage boys don’t have her now
liberated view of the female form, and that photographing her breasts
and texting the image to such a boy will only result in his acting like an idiot…
Question: Are teen-age boys in America the only ones who don’t have a liberated view of bare breasts or the female form?
Sisyphus:
I think Dave is getting filled with contentment after the honeymoon
from chasing so many of the vocal ones away. At least before he would
interact once in while. Now he just comes in, kicks up some posts,
leans back in his chair and ignores us. He just sits there and listens
to that damn scanner. We slave over hot blogs all day long and for
what? How can a person who works in the newspaper business have nothing
to say. We should start a flame war to see if we can get his attention.
That’ll show him. I’m just so unfulfilled. (sniffle)
Question: Isn’t it better that I toss out good topics for you guys to chew up — than for me to get involved in the fray and possibly feed your fears that I’m too biased on a topic?
ME:
I don’t like going to cemeteries. My Sister is in the one in Post Falls
and I’ve only been a couple of times. It so happens that my Mom was MAD
at my Sister and I last year because she wanted to go to my Sister’s
and her Brothers (in Coeur d’ Alene) during Memorial weekend and we had
things going on. She said “I don’t think I’ll be here next Memorial Day
and you HAVE to promise me that you will go to their graves after I’m
gone” so this year, even though I don’t like going I will go for Mom.
Question: Do you visit the graves of dearly departed loved ones at local cemeteries on Memorial Day?
Dan Of The County: If those numbers are right (639 in Zone 1 and 422 in Zone 3) the astounding number would be the turn out.
I believe the number of 
registered voters for the whole district is
about 37,000. With five trustee zones the average (if they are
relatively equal) number of registered voters per trustee zone would be
about 7,400. If so, that would mean the turn out for this particular
trustee election would be less than 6%! I hope my math is wrong. The Governor signed the election consolidation bill yesterday. It will
be interesting to see if one the main arguments for it comes to pass,
that with more combined elections you will hopefully see turnouts go up.
Question: Do you believe election consolidation will improve voter turnout for trustee elections?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
Unofficially, Ray Gun reports that incumbent Edie Brooks nipped challenger James Purtee by 7 votes in the hotly contested Zone 1 trustee election and incumbent Bill Hemenway defeated challenger Terri Seymour by 40 votes in Zone 3. OpenCdA.com reports the totals as 323 to 316 in the Brooks-Purtee race, which featured a controversy re: missing yard signs in the closing days, and 233-191 (slightly different than Ray Gun) in the Hemenway/Seymour contest here. Concludes Mary, Dan, Bill & Co.: “Let’s hope there is a recount and a challenge to make sure every voter was indeed from Zone 1.” Sounds like their candidates didn’t win. Again.
Question: What role did the flap over the yard signs in the closing days of the election play in the incumbents’ abilities to squeak out victories (if, indeed, the results hold)?
On this day in history: In 1536, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded for adultery, treason, and incest. In 1999, “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” was released in the U.S. It set a new record for opening day sales at 28.5 million. In 1946, Andre the Giant was born. In 1994, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died in New York at age 64. Today is World Hepatitis Day. Tonight, Adam Lambert and Kris Allen will begin the two-day, head-to-head battle to see which one will become the next “American Idol” here. And your latest Wild Card is in play …
Caitlin Sybouts, age 18 of Spokane, Wash., takes a break from her music classes and her boyfriend Miles Van Zee, age 19 of Federal Way, Wash., from his social studies courses, find some afternoon hang-time on Van Zee’s hammock, outside Dressler Hall on the Eastern Washington University campus in Cheney, Wash. (Dan Pelle/Spokesman-Review)
On my way home, I stopped at my neighborhood convenience store to get gas. I stuck the 
nozzle into the gas tank and pushed the trigger. I don’t know if it was the force from the flowing gas or what, but the entire hose POPPED OFF THE GAS PUMP, dousing me in gas! So I’ve got one end of the hose stuck in my car and the other lying on the ground and I’m covered in gas. And the manager at the store was not very apologetic when I stormed in to complain. She simply said to move to another pump, and that the 37 cents worth of gas that sprayed all over me would show up on my debit card. After some angry words, she agreed to have my clothes cleaned if I brought them back in later. It was a long, smelly drive home. I should have taken their %$#@ hose with me/Staci Lehman, Kootenai MPO. More here.
Question: Has this happened to anyone else?
Item: Nampa firm lets moms bring their kids to work/Maggie O’Mara, KTVB
More Info: At an accounting office in Nampa - babies are just a part of doing business. “We had several women who had babies at the same time so we got them together to show this was our staff and these are all the babies that we had, it was quite a busy office!” said Jeniele Rowley. The parents who work at Merrick and Rowley Accounting are encouraged to bypass daycare, and bring their kids to work! It’s an unusual concept, but the two women who run the firm say it just makes sense.
Question: Would you want to work for a firm that let mothers bring their children to work?
A sure sign of the tourist season start is the planting of the geraniums at the Coeur d’Alene Resort, which began today. The Resort plants over 10,000 red geraniums each year, as a symbolic welcome mat to visitors/Councilwoman KerriT, OnLocation North Idaho.
A mockingbird grazes University of Florida biology major Devon Duffy, in Gainesville, Fla., in an attempt to drive her away from its nest on the university campus. Mockingbirds may look pretty much alike to people, but they can tell us apart and are quick to react to folks they don’t like. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/University of Florida, Lou Guillette)
Top Cutlines:
Mahitable Mockingbird hovers over Devon, “Now hold still, Dearie, while I do up a fancy braid in your hair” — JeanieS.
HM: Dennis
Thanks to a wonderful Hospice administrator, he pulled some strings and in one whirlwind of an afternoon, got her de-IV’ed, signed out of what she considered a neverending nightmare (no offense, KMC- of the many hours I spent there by her side, I considered everyone to be at the very least competent, and most very compassionate as well) and sent home. Equipment magically appeared in her living room- a special hospital bed to ease her pressure ulcers, nurses available 24-7 by merely picking up the phone, and just the right amount of comfort measures for her to still recognize us but not be in pain/Kendramama, Soul Doubt. More here.
Question: Has any of your loved ones ever used Hospice at the end of their lives? What was that experience like?
My Husband, Son, Sister and I took off for the Oregon Coast on Thursday. When we read my Mom’s will after she passed on in October, she said “I’d like to be cremated and my ashes put in the Ocean if possible”. We were determined to make it possible. My Sister and I agreed that when her house sold, we’d pay her bills and then set aside the money to take a trip together and do what Mom wanted/Me. More here.
HBO Numbers (for week of May 10-16): 41761/25362; (for Monday): 7236/4293
Question: Have you ever carried out a loved ones wishes to scatter their ashes in a unique spot?
Dandelions grow right through the sidewalk on 4th Street in Coeur d’Alene earlier today. On the Tuesday, May 26, crews will start ripping out the pavement, curbs and sidewalks of a three-block chunk of Fourth Street north of downtown Coeur d’Alene. It is the first phase of a resurfacing and beautification project that is scheduled to last four months. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review) Question: What do you do to maintain your sanity while encountering road construction everywhere you turn during the six months of decent weather we have in the Inland Northwest?
Just received a call from one of my favorite Berry Pickers. Who risked life and limb to find out why those guys are standing at the intersections in the construction zones along Highway 95, north of Appleway. We’ve talked about this before here. Among the answers — They’re there to protect people from messing with the fresh concrete. The correct answer? A “stander” @ Prairie & Highway 95 told the Berry Picker that he and the others are required under ADA rules of the government stimulus package to be available to help individuals with disabilities cross the highway. The “standers” aren’t allowed to sit down. Nor can they have radios or cell phones to help the time pass. In the six weeks since he’s been working, the “stander” told the Berry Picker that he’s helped 4 people across the highway. Meanwhile, he guesstimates that 500 people who put themselves at risk to ask what he’s doing. Your tax dollars at work.
Huckleberries Online received the following message from City Clerk Susan Weathers a few minutes ago: “I just read through the blogs regarding the school board candidates’ yard signs. What is interesting to me is that the Purtee/Seymour camp is chastising the Brooks/Hemenway camp of putting political signs in their right-of-way. About a week before this controversy; the City had received a call about the Purtee/Seymour signs being in the right-of-way. One of my deputy City clerk’s called Ms. Seymour about the misplaced signs and they did remove them. When it comes to elections, when we receive a complaint, we call the candidate first to give them an opportunity to rectify the situation. It just struck me as interesting that the Purtee/Seymour camp is calling fowl on something they had done themselves.” Interesting.
University of Idaho graduate Anna Shambaugh of Lake Port, Calif., and resident volunteer firefighter at Moscow, Idaho, wears a mortar board as she walks to the Kiddie Dome for commencement ceremonies Saturday. Rep. Walt Minnick, D-Idaho, gave the keynote address. (AP Photo/Lewiston Tribune, Steve Hanks)
Question: Do you know a recent college grad who has had little difficulty finding work in the field in which s/he majored?
The Route of the Hiawatha mountain bike trail will open for the 2009 season on May 30. Snow and trail maintenance has prevented the trail from being open sooner. You can read all about the trail and the upcoming season here.
Question: Have you ridden the Route of the Hiawatha? What’s it like? Would you recommend it to others?
Ah, Jeannie, don’t hold your breathe… we have been a proud owner of a 1947 Ford pick up. It came with a faded yellow paint job. It sat in a friends garage for 3 years. It has sat in our 
garage, and been torn into pieces, for 7 years. The box is up against the garage wall, the cab is across the garage wrapped like a baby in a blanket, it is finally…finally painted. The fenders are upstairs in the garage. I don’t know where the bumpers are, I suspect they are under the platform that the cab is on. And the flat head engine is swing on a chain from the ceiling. The trannie is on the floor in the corner. And the frame is outside of the garage. And I am still waiting. And every year we have the Lost in the 50’s, I tell him, next year, I want the truck in the parade/Cis, From A Simple Mind. More here.
Question: Does your husband/boyfriend have an old beater project that has been cooling its heels in the garage or side yard for at least a year? How can you encourage him to “get ‘er done”?
Three foot tall motivational speaker Sean Stephenson, of La Grange, Illinois, hands the ball to Chicago White Sox pitcher John Danks after he threw out the first pitch at U. S. Cellular Field before the start of recent game between the Chicago White Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays in Chicago. Sean Stephenson profile here. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune/MCT)
Question: Do you know someone who has overcome great obstacles that life has thrown at them — and prospered?
Quite upside down they lounge in trees
in laid back places like Belize,
and seldom do they fret or worry
because they’re never in a hurry:
a sloth who chews a leaf today
could still be chewing it next May.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
The Idaho State Department of Agriculture sent out an alert by e-mail to be on the lookout for a boat named “Hello” that was headed for Idaho covered in mussels. The boat was spied by a Utah doctor interested in the problem of zebra and quagga mussels that have infested Lake Mead and are at risk of spreading to Idaho. According to the e-mail, the vehicle was northbound on I-15 in northern Utah yesterday. It could have continued north on I-15 or switched to I-84 northbound at Tremonton, Utah, and officials fear it’s now in Idaho. Before it gets to any Idaho waterway, it needs to be decontaminated/Susan Drumheller, Idaho Conservation League. More here.
Question: Anyone having trouble getting the new $10 boat sticker to fight the quagga infestation?
“Every day I look in Forbes to see if my name is there; if not, I go to work” — Davis Donuts readerboard.
Question: Do you enjoy the messages on the Davis Donuts readerboard?
This April 22 photo shows Gardiner School Junior High School track team members warming up on the track as a bison crosses their path in Gardiner, Mont.. In the southern Park County town, elk and bison are often seen around homes and businesses. The photo was selected as the best one in the monthly contest among Montana AP members. (AP Photo/Livingston Enterprise, Angela Schneider)
I’m a little slow posting things today b/c I’ve been hit by a mega-spammer on the e-mail side. Dunno whether I or Huckleberries Online is the target of the spammer. Or collateral damage. But I know that Dan of the County has been hit by the same spammer, who sends out hundreds of e-mails in Spanish. Our techs are taking care of things on our end. Anyone else out there affected?
Question: Anyone out there know someone who might want to do harm to little old Huckleberries Online ;-)
Nampa teen could face serious charges after taking nude pictures of herself and sending them via text. Those pictures have made the rounds being forwarded on to several students at Nampa High School. “There’s a picture of a girl exposing her breasts,” said Joy Egan a freshman at Nampa High School who saw the picture. “I’ve seen it like more than 10 times probably,” said Izzy Rodriguez, a Nampa High freshman, “After it and stuff, she felt horrible.” According to these Nampa High students, the girl who took the picture is only a freshman and the picture was meant for her boyfriend/Shayne Wells, Fox 12. More here.
Question: How would you handle this problem if your daughter and a friend of your daughter’s was involved in sexting?
Item: Inked and outraged: Expletives painted on couple’s home near schools/Brian Walker, CdA Press
More Info: When Post Falls’ Dee and Lee Ternes opened their living room curtains, graffiti with obscenities on their Fir Street home greeted the senior couple. “He’s 74 and I’m 68, so it’s pretty disheartening,” Dee said. “(Lee) can’t scrape, paint and do all that stuff. I’m on anxiety medicine to keep me from having a heart attack, then we find this.” Expletives were spray painted on the couple’s living room and garage windows and their garage doors. They were waiting for an insurance adjuster to give them an estimate of the damage.
Question: Has a vandal ever harmed or destroyed your property?
Item: Popkey: Idaho congressional delegation revives dormant bipartisanship/Idaho Statesman
More Info: For the first time since Republican Jim McClure left the Senate in 1991, Idaho has a congressional delegation determined to work together, regardless of party. Bipartisanship was dormant during the 18 years GOP Sen. Larry Craig dominated Idaho’s team in Washington. Craig put party ahead of Idaho’s broader interest, sabotaging Democratic Reps. Richard Stallings and Larry LaRocco. After LaRocco lost in 1994, Democrats were too weak to elect anybody. But Craig’s retirement and November’s election of Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick have revived the put-Idaho-first ethic that spanned the 34 years bridged by McClure, Republican Sen. Len Jordan and Democratic Sen. Frank Church.
Question: Are you glad to see the Idaho delegation move toward bipartisanship or would you prefer that the four congressmen show more of their partisan colors?
Idaho State Police, Nez Perce County sheriff’s office and Nez Perce Tribal Police investigate Monday night at an officer-involved shooting on Cottonwood Creek Road 20 miles east of
RE: Trustee Edie Brooks loses dozens of signs/Huckleberries Online
Jim Hollingsworth: Some of these signs were picked up by neighbors who were very concerned to have those signs in front of their houses, since they planned to vote for Purtee. Other signs were picked up by concerned neighbors who knew that their neighbor did not want any political signs in their yard. All those signs have been returned to their rightful owners. Again, the Police Department does not enforce the sign code, so there was not much point in filing a police complaint. No one seems to be very concerned about the fact that we have lost over 50 (fifty) signs since we started putting them out. Some signs have been put out at least three times, and someone is taking them
Question: What should Hollingsworth and/or others supporting the opposing candidate have done in this situation?
Tumblewords: My blog has been up a little more than three years with about 700
posts on the main blog although not so many posts on the younger
Art blog. Oh, yes, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Haven’t learned how to make
it earn cash but it does pay mightily in entertainment and
cyber friendships. I’m fairly new to Twitter but post fresh haiku 5 or 6 times a week there. That’s turned into an interesting gig, as well.
Question: Anyone out there actually make some money off blogging?
Ray Gun:
Subsequent to this event, I posted some comments regarding Kathy Sims’
admitted illegal campaign fundraising and expenditures. They were
deleted, some in part, some in their entirety. Apparently the
moderators of Opencda did not enjoy seeing a public display of their
hypocrisy in defending, excusing and justifying the Campaign Finance
law breaking by Kathy Sims, while at the same time becoming apoplectic
about Charlie Nipp’s transgression of the disclosure rules. (In the drop-down box) is the
email, in its entirety, that first notified me that I was banned.
Question: With Ray Gun gone, who’s left to try to reason w/Dan & Mary & Bill?
CindyH: How about a best commencment speech by a sitting president, ex- pres or presidential spouse? I’d
vote for Barbara Bush’s Wellesley address: “At the end of your life,
you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one
more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not
spent with a husband, a child, a friend or a parent.” It meant a lot to me at the time because I was feeling a lot pressure to put my boys in daycare and “get a real job.”
Question: What do you think of Barbara Bush’s words of wisdom?
Michael Ramirez/Investor’s Business Daily
I’m working from home today, nursing the tail-end of a bug that I hit about mid-afternoon Friday and sapped my strength most of the beautiful weekend. So much for gardening. On this day in history: In 1897, Dracula, a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker is published. In 1980, 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption: Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage. In 1920, Pope John Paul II was born. In 1981, American author William Saroyan died. Canada is observing Victoria Day. And the Monday Wild Card is in play …
Kage Mann: Wow, I forgot about that Community Center and the sad part about that
is I attended Junior High there in the mid-70’s.I read an article that
said the CDA community hasn’t had a C.C. for 60 years.So,
apparently some people never considered that old Junior High as a real
Community Center. I used to play B-Ball at 7th st.alot.I believe they
closed it down in 1983-84.Heck, my parents also, went to school there.
Question: How many of you attended the old high school or old junior high school @ 7th & Montana? Did any of you participate in city recreation league activities after it was converted for a short time into a community center?
Chuck Young along with his great-grandchildren, from left Keira, Macaylee, Brayden and Destiny wait at the Social Security office in Coeur d’Alene earlier this spring in order to obtain the proper documents for an Idaho Identification card. Alison Boggs and photographer Kathy Plonka have been telling the compelling story of how Chuck and his wife, Shirley, are raising four great-grandchildren here, while Chuck battles lung cancer here. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
Veteran school board member Edie Brooks reports to Coeur d’Alene police that 60 of her yard 
signs were taken without her permission from locations along 15th Street Friday and Saturday. Brooks, who has served on the Coeur d’Alene School Board for 11 years, told Huckleberries a short while ago that former Republican legislative candidate Jim Hollingsworth called her Friday evening to say that she had put her signs up illegally and that he was going to have her arrested. She reportedly thanked Hollingsworth for the information and told him that she would obtain a necessary permit the following day. Which she did. However, she noticed signs missing Saturday. According to a police report, Hollingsworth told an officer who called about the signs: “I think I might know someone who may have removed them.” When Hollingsworth was asked who that was, he told the officer: “I’m not at liberty to say.” Later, Brooks was told by phone that her signs would be at the school district office or City Hall. Some were at the district office while others were thrown in bushes. She’s still missing 27 of the 100 signs she obtained to promote her candidacy against challenger James Purtee. Brooks’ Zone One runs south of Hayden Lake and east of 15th Street. The school board election is Tuesday.
This is how our dock looks after a winter with a record amount of snow. Dave is determined to fix it. I suggested using the last of our M80s to blow it up. He’s not listening to me. Hopefully the repair work doesn’t kill him. Dave said if he dies to just set the dock free. I don’t think that will work. Someone would surely feel sorry for me and bring the thing home/Frum Helen Back, Hauser Thoughts.
Kootenai County’s second case of Novel H1N1 flu was confirmed Monday by the Idaho State Laboratory, bringing the state’s total cases to nine. The patient, who is no longer contagious, is a student at Ramsey Elementary School in Coeur d’Alene. The child did not attend school while ill. The Coeur d’Alene School District sent letters home with Ramsey Elementary students notifying parents of the H1N1 case and asking them to monitor their children for symptoms. The letters ask parents to keep children with symptoms home for seven days and consult a health provider. The district also planned additional disinfecting tonight of all commonly touched surfaces, such as doorknobs and railings. Health officials believe the H1N1 virus infected the student during recent family travels out of state by car. No one else in the family has symptoms. The student was ill for three days and has recovered without hospitalization/Cynthia Taggart, Panhandle Health District.
The other classmate that passed recently was Debbie. I never said one
word to her all the way thru school, but I didn’t say a lot to very
much of anyone back then. She was always one of those people who was
“around”; she always seemed to be smiling brightly and I remember her
as being very, very exuberant. My heart goes out to her families as
well. In high school, I had my own little group of 7 or 8 friends, and
I was Extremely Scared of Girls back then. So even though I went to
school with All These People back then, 99% of them didn’t know me and
I didn’t know them. But whenever one of them passes away, I feel a
sense of loss/Atmospheric Ruminations. More here.
Question: How does it affect you when you learn of the death of a high school classmate?
Gov. Chris Gregoire is surrounded by children and adults as she signs the “everything but marriage” law Monday in Seattle. The law will take effect at the end of July and expands on previous domestic partnership laws, adding partnerships to all remaining areas of state law that deal with married couples. The benefits range from labor and employment rights to pensions and other public employee benefits. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Question: Do you think the Idaho Legislature will ever pass a bill like this one?
Lew2nl: Now here’s a deal for you …Ad from today’s ‘local’ paper” — “Custom made diamond wedding set, yellow gold, size 6 1/4, .30 CARROTS, never worn …”
Question: Anyone want to make up a story to go with that advertisement?
Item: Idaho among nation’s leaders in delivering transportation stimulus/Idaho Business Review
Nick Adams: In spite of all the hand-wringing, teabagging and declarations of
sovereignty, Idaho sure isn’t wasting time trying to get its hands on
federal transportation stimulus dollars. Only fellow deep-red Oklahoma
has secured more money at this point.
Question: Anyone else see hypocrisy in this interesting item pointed out by Nick — that fed-bashing Idaho is nearly leading the league in grabbing onto stimulus dollars for road construction?
The kite string hit the ground and was dragged through a bunch of brown stalks in the rocky outcropping. Before anyone could say “poison ivy,” we knew we might be in big trouble. Three grandkids with poison ivy would not be fun. I
was extreme kite flying in the Boise Foothills last weekend with the
grandkids. We call it extreme because it involves bushwhacking,
climbing on rocks and running down the trail chasing loose kites. Trail
running, bouldering and climbing? My colleague, Roger Phillips, jokes
that kind of kite flying qualifies as an extreme sport. When
the dust settled later in the week, nobody had blisters. With kids
having a blast all over the hillside, I couldn’t believe it/Pete Zimowsky, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Describe the worst case of poison ivy or poison oak that you’ve experienced?
A hen duck and her 12 ducklings create a parade-like atmosphere as they cross the Lilac Parade route while trying to march to the Spokane River Saturday in downtown Spokane. The ducks are the ones that nested and hatched on a downtown awning where they were watched by banker Joel Armstrong, left, and Crystal Tobeck, right. A group of bank employees, media and bystanders followed the slow walk to the water by the duck family. Story here. And: Slideshow here. (Jesse Tinsley/Spokesman-Review)
JeanC: I woke up yesterday with a hot scratchy throat and I still have a slight burning sensation in the top of my lungs this morning. Kinda like when I started to get the crud a while back. I am hoping it is just from overdoing it on the outside work on Saturday and allergies. Need to remember to start popping loratadine with the rest of my daily pills :P
Question: Dr. OIiveria (aka, Junior) believes Airborne is nothing more than a placebo. And recommended last night that I opt for Theraflu instead. I still have some stock of Zicam. What do you take to get through a bout with a cold or flu?
There will be no streamers, cakes, or balloons. Honestly, I’m
too busy finishing up our last two weeks of the homeschool year to
think about any kind of celebration of this blog’s 5th anniversary. Yup, it was five years ago today that I wrote my first post. Things have changed a lot since 2004. What
started out as an informational blog about family life quickly changed
into a more personal parenting journal, only to change again as we
became homeschoolers and I added that to the mix of blogging topics. Life
has never been busier, and that has definitely had an effect on how
much time I devote to my blog of late. But, at the end of a hectic day,
it’s still fun to sit down to share a few thoughts and opinions with
other parents, homeschoolers, and whoever else might end up here/Idaho Dad, A Family Runs Through It. More here.
Question: How long have you been blogging? And: If you knew then what you know now, would you have started your blog?
Secelia Garrett-King of Galveston competes before judges during the vintage-inspired swim wear contest at the Galveston Island Beach Revue on the beach in Galveston, Texas, Saturday. Garrett-King won second runner-up in the competition. The Islander By Choice group resurrected the legendary Bathing Beauties Pageant this spring to help raise awareness about the islands recovery from Hurricane Ike and plans to continue it as an annual event. The Galveston beauty contest began in 1920 and was dubbed the “Pageant of Pulchritude” by original promoter C.E. Barfield. The pageants ran from 1920 to 1932 to kick-off the tourist season. (AP Photo/The Galveston County Daily News, Kevin M. Cox)
Question: Would you prefer that modern bathing suits took a cue from the past and covered a bit more skin?
Re: Happy (expletive deleted job hunting)/Nic, Rants, Raves & Random Thoughts
Nic: He takes our order and the food came out quicker than I expected. We talked and enjoyed the food. The waiter stopped by a couple times to check how things were going.The
last time he 
checked in he asked if there’s anything else he could get
us and Bekah told him that it was my birthday. The waiter dropped a
dessert menu down on the table and told me I got a free dessert. Aside
from the rough start(Bekah and I are sure he was trying to look down her shirt) things were going predictably superb. That is until the waiter delivered our check. Bekah
opened the black folder and scrunched her face in an unsettled look. “I
don’t think that’s OK.” she said. I asked what it was and she shook her
head but then handed me the bill. At the top of the receipt, the waiter chicken scratched “Happy mother effin’ birthday.” No joking. I wish I was kidding.
DFO: I needed to give a higher profile to this post by Nic.
Question: Have you had a close encounter with a bad waiter/waitress recently?
Fun’s over, kiddies. Life is hard. The economy sucks. It’s time you brats grew up and started 
suffering like your stressed-out mothers and fathers. Yep, it’s adios to Spokane’s long, benevolent summertime tradition
of free swimming for youth. The Park Board voted last Thursday to
charge kids 4 through 17 a dollar to cool off in city pools. Aw, Park Board members still want children to have fun. They want kids to learn how to swim. But first they want to teach them the basic rules of economics: No dough – no dive. No scratch – no splash. And no, just because you pay a fee doesn’t give you twerps a new right to pee in the pools. Aw, stop your bellyaching. It costs money to fill the pool. It costs money to filter the water. It costs money to chlorinate. And, hey, somebody’s gotta buy kegs for the teen lifeguard pool house beer bashes/Doug Clark, SR. More here.
Question: Should kids have to pay to use public pools?
In this AP file photo, comics, including Batman #1, left, and Marvel Mystery Comics #9 are shown at Heritage Auction Galleries, in Dallas. The comics, collected by Ralph Chicorel as a child in Detroit, will be up for auction this week and the collection is expected to bring $500,000. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)
Question: Which comic did you enjoy reading the most as a kid?
But last semester (Winter 2009), the BYU-Idaho administration announced that both the College Republicans and the College Democrats, (both student-run political organizations), would be dissolved in an effort to comply with changes to the BYU-Idaho political neutrality policy. “We are trying to ensure that BYU-Idaho is a politically neutral campus,” said Andy Cargal, a BYU-Idaho public relations representative. “As a private institution and being affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we feel that it is in the best interest of our university to be politically neutral. “While we actively encourage our students to be politically active and join political parties of their choice, we feel that BYU-Idaho itself can’t be a sponsor of partisan political groups or activities.” BYU-Idaho cites that no specific incident behind this change/Standard Journal. More here. MountainGoat Report observations here.
Question: What do you make of the decision by BYU-Idaho to suspend student political organizations on campus?
A University of Notre Dame graduate displays on her mortar board her membership in the ND Response Pro-Life group, bottom right, and another graduate with a Barack Obama campaign emblem on their mortar board, top left, participate in commencement ceremonies in South Bend, Ind., Sunday. Story here. And here. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Question: Do you agree with what President Obama said about abortion during his speech at Notre Dame?/Idaho Statesman
Items and foods that have been discontinued, outdated or packaged in irregular containers are the inventory of Bargain Foods & Treasures. The discount store opened last week at 811 N. Fourth St. The 4,100-square-foot building had been the home of the Idaho Youth Ranch Thrift Store, which moved up the street half a block. Bargain Foods primarily sells packaged and canned foods, drug store counter items and a few miscellaneous “treasures.” Owners are Bob and Leslie Edwards, of Post Falls. Originally from New Jersey and Utah, respectively, they came to North Idaho from Seattle/Nils Rosdahl, SR Handle Extra. More here.
Question: What kind of treasure can be found at thrift stores?
Gov. Butch Otter has another alternative in his tool box for responding to the Idaho Legislature’s refusal to raise taxes to meet the $240 million annual road maintenance shortfall. He can reduce the size of the state’s road system. That sounds like blasphemy, but hear me out. When the U.S. Forest Service backlog on road maintenance ballooned to $10 billion over its 400,000 miles of roads in 192 million acres of national forest, the Clinton administration came back with the 2001 roadless rule. It banned new roads in 58 million acres of national forest.The rule didn’t solve the problem but it changed the debate. Most of the people who opposed the roadless rule were residents of rural areas in national forests who more regularly used the roads that frankly were getting a lot less use than the costs of maintenance justified/Rocky Barker, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Does Rocky Barker have the right idea? If the Legislature won’t vote to increase the gas tax to fix roads, should the state inventory Idaho’s road system — and stop fixing certain ones that aren’t used that much?
Tony Marohn hold his one-month-old daughter Thelia at his home in Coeur d’Alene recently. He along with Brett Evans is opening a home for disabled veterans in Moyie Springs. Story here. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
A two-week-old Bornean Orangutan named Iznee, left, is seen in the arms of her mother, Sarikei, inside their enclosure at Chester Zoo, Chester, England, Monday. Iznee is the first baby Orangutan born at the zoo for ten years. The zoo is home to over 7,000 animals and 400 different species, including some of the most endangered species on the planet. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Paul Thomas)
In the weekend HBO Poll, you Merry Hucksters went with the big two when asked which late-night TV talk show host is your favorite — 37 of 82 (45%) voted for Jay Leno and 24 of 82 (29%) voted for David Letterman. In the second tier, Conan O’Brien was next best of the four remaining with 12 of 82 (15%). In our poll Friday, 54 of 94 (57%) of you Hucksters said you still had your tonsils.
Kage Mann: I had planned on going to the Kroc Center to take a looksee this
weekend but, not now.I can’t pass judgement on the wonders of ‘the Kroc
Center’ with only one good eye to see through.I need to have a good set
of eyes to see if Mayor Bloems decision to bring Joans dream here was a
mistake or the crowning achievement of her mayoratorial career.
Question: Is the Kroc Center the “crowning achievement of (Sandi Bloem’s) mayoratorial career?
RE: Speak freely — or not/Coeur d’Alene Press Sunday editorial
Walkabout: Every website has the right to control content. It has nothing to do
with free speech. 
Free speech means you can create your own website and
say vile things. It means you can protest on the street corner or even
have a parade where you express your views. It doesn’t mean you could
come to my website and say what ever you want. The Press says they want
to hear all points of view so they have allowed comments “even when
those thoughts horrify or repulse us.” Clearly, allowing such
objectionable comments amounts to no standards at all. Yes, there are
racists in our community but who really cares what they have to say?
Don’t legitimize haters by giving them a forum where their thoughts are accepted.
Question: How do you define free speech?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
On this day in history: In 1954, The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. In 1973, Watergate scandal: Hearings begin in the United States Senate and are televised. In 2004, Massachusetts becomes the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage. In 1936, Dennis Hopper was born. In 2004, Tony Randall died.Ireland is observing National Famine Memorial Day And the Sunday Wild Card is in play …
In story comments posted anonymously by readers of the ongoing murder story involving a Honduran suspect and Native American victim, some objected to what they described as hate speech inciting violence. Others felt the story threads were laced with racism. And others believed that the First Amendment protected the anonymous, if invective-packed, opinions expressed by individuals who were unwilling to be identified. In print journalism, the rules are more clear-cut. Courts have for many years outlined what constitutes libel — the written defamation of an individual — and what recourse there might be. Editors are charged with deciding what community standards, rather than the courts, will accept. But in cyberspace, online information providers and their readers are still working out many of the rules for a new medium/Coeur d’Alene Press Editorial. More here.
Question: What do you make of this Coeur d’Alene Press editorial today? It goes on to say that the Press is instituting a feature next month that allows online readers to eliminate objectionable comments.
A robin leaps into the air while taking a bird bath in a parking lot puddle at River Forks Park near Roseburg, Ore., on Thursday. (AP Photo/The News-Review, Robin Loznak)
DFO: I’ve never met photographer Robin Loznak of The News-Review of Roseburg (where former Coeur d’Alene Press business writer Bart Smith may still be editor. But I’ve followed Robin’s photography from the Great Falls Tribune to Oregon. Terrific stuff. Strangely, I don’t know if Robin is male or female. I simply know that s/he is one of the Northwest’s best wildlife photographers.
Question: Which books are on your summer reading list?
The Inland Northwest’s education layoff numbers are in, and they’re not as bad as many had feared. Getting much of the credit for staving off major staff reductions are federal stimulus spending, creative cost-cutting and, in some cases, growing enrollment, which brings in greater per-student state funding. “The goal was to save people,” said Wayne Leonard, Mead School District business manager. That sentiment was echoed by Coeur d’Alene Superintendent Hazel Bauman. “People will come before stuff. We’re distributing the pain, so to speak.” In Idaho, negotiations with teachers are just beginning. Pay freezes and salary reductions are expected to be on the table, officials say/Jody Lawrence-Turner, SR. More here.
Question: Are you confident that your local school district can provide a decent education to youngsters given the current economic constraints?
Liz: I suck at languages. I mostly did very well in school but I barely
passed Spanish. Probably the only reason I did was because we had
enough non-language assignments to push me into a pass grade. (bringing
food, dressing in costume, showing up for the foreign language fair). I did learn to say “Donde esta los banos?” though on those spring break trips down to Ensenada in college. Useful, ya know …
Question: Do you speak a second language?
Miss California Carrie Prejean holds a ball in the air as she works with the Pad Squad during the sixth inning of a baseball game between the San Diego Padres and the Cincinnati Reds Friday in San Diego. Prejean worked on the Pad Squad before becoming Miss California. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Question: Did Donald Trump make the right call in allowing Miss California Carrie Prejean to keep her crown after the controversy she ignited re: her stand on gay marriage and the disclosure that she posed topless as a teen-ager? (Story here.)
JReighley: 
No, I am not surprised. I think the more we know, the more we recognize just how brutal abortion really is. I think that the strategy of protest has not served the pro-life
cause nearly as well as the newer strategy of service that is in place
now, with ultrasounds, counseling, adoption options, etc. When people see that the passion is for life, not for oppression, it
is pretty hard to argue with the truth. Life is worth loving and protecting.
Question: This is one of the best short comments I’ve read re: the abortion debate. Anyone else with ideas how we can find middle ground in the abortion debate?
JBelle: I have such great memories of HBO: Mike Kennedy’s first campaign and
the outrageous 
attempted smear over his residency; JimmyMac’s patient
and all day explanation of how mortgage banking really “works” and how
and why some people can qualify, remember that?!; the extended debate
of the Kroc Center;
the whole Larry Craig reaction, second reaction, third reaction,
fourth…ick, ick, ick; the brouhaha at Dan English’s workplace over
blogging on the company dime; Taryn’s coverage of Joseph Duncan;
Megan’s coverage of Joseph Duncan; Betsy’s coverage of Joseph Duncan;
sigh; omigod! the Kootenai County prosecutor and the brouhaha in HIS
workplace, THEIR workplace, heh. Full comment below. Friday thread.
Question: Can you think of any other great moments in HBO history?
Jac Cates sets up the Wenatchee Apple Blossom Festival float that celebrates 90 years of volunteers, under I-90 in downtown Spokane, Wa. Cates will be driving the float in the Spokane Lilac Festival 2009 Armed Forces Torchlight Parade this evening. He says the Lilac Parade is his favorite festival to attend. Story here. (Dan Pelle/Spokesman-Review)
Question: If you were forced to choose only one Inland Northwest parade to see in a year, which one would it be?
Timberline High knocked of Lake City 1-0 in the semi-final game of the girls’ 5A state softball tournament to earn a spot in the championship game tomorrow at noon. Meanwhile, Lake City will face Coeur d’Alene High at 10 o’clock Saturday in the final loser-out game, with the winner moving on to face Timberline for the title and the loser finishing third. Coeur d’Alene kept alive by knocking off Twin Falls 5-0 behind the one-hit pitching of Amber Coburn, who tossed a no-hitter and two one-hitters Friday to lead the Vikings. (Greg Lee/SR provided the information for this report.)
On this day in history: In 1618, Johannes Kepler discovered his harmonics law. In 1970, President Nixon appointed America’s first two female generals. In 1972, Alabama Gov. George Wallace was shot by Arthur Bremer in Laurel, MD. Wallace was paralyzed by the shot. In 1937, singer Trini Lopez was born. We’re in the middle of National Asparagus month. In the news, RNC Chairman Michael Steele says Demos want to take away gun rights here. And the Wild Card for TGIF is in play …
Lakeland High School’s #6 Alisha Watson failed to tag out #11 Alaura Seley of Emmitt during the 4A softball game at Post Falls High School on Friday. Emmet won the game 4-2 in the state 4A softball tournament and moved on to play Kuna. Lakeland fell to the loser-out bracket, where the Hawks face Wood River next. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
Bent: Man, lots of bike accidents on Bike to Work week. I almost caused an automobile accident this morning while riding my bike into work. I was on Upriver Drive just east of Avista headquarters, and I dropped my water bottle. It rolled out across both lanes of traffic and I cannot believe that the cars swerved and almost collided just to avoid hitting my water bottle… Heck, I probably would have hit it.
Question: Have you ever had a close call with a vehicle while riding bike? Tell us about it.
Don Sausser captures another sign that the seasons are changing in Coeur d’Alene — the annual appearance of the trademark red geraniums at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.
An elaborate floral headdress is modeled during the 8th annual Tulips and Pansies fashion show benefiting Village Care New York Thursday in New York. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
Top Cutlines:
Plummer School District millions of dollars if voters approve an $11 million school bond to replace Lakeside Elementary next Tuesday. If the bond passes, nearly half of the $11 million bond will be interest free. “This is very exciting news,” said Judi Sharrett, the district’s interim superintendent. “We estimate it will save the taxpayers $2.5 million.” The district received approval for up to $5 million in interest free bonds through the Qualified School Construction Bonds, a program made available though the President’s Stimulus Act/Marc Stewart, Coeur d’Alene Indian Tribe. More here.
Beach volleyball at North Idaho College is in full swing, and this weekend’s summer-like weather in our corner of the world sure to bring out the crowds/OnLocation North Idaho.
I recall Monte Cristos being everywhere when I was young in the ‘70’s and early 80’s. In fact, I remember specifically my grandparents frequently taking me to eat at TJ’s Pantry, located in the North Shore Hotel, now the Coeur d’Alene Resort. That place was dark and cavernous, done in browns and oranges and closer in spirit to a greasy spoon than the comparatively fancy offerings of Dockside. Anyway, I remember always ordering the Monte Cristo with a big pile of fries, then sneaking off to play Space Invaders in the arcade area next to the indoor pool while my grandparents drank pot after pot of coffee and chainsmoked/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. More here.
HBO Numbers (for Thursday, May 15): 7413/4348
Question: Did you even know what a Monte Cristo was before you read OTV’s comment above?
Killian, a competitive border collie, flies through the air while chasing a flying disc thrown by owner Sharon Marconi while warming up for the taping of a television show for the Animal Planet channel in Acton, Mass., Wednesday. The show is aimed at teaching old dogs new tricks, like fetching a brew from the fridge or helping a human land a date. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Question: Can your old dog fetch a beer? Or do any other tricks?
About 1,301 students will graduate from the University of Idaho Saturday. You can read the Moscow-Pullman Daily News story here. And check your answer on the newspaper’s online poll above.
While you’re waiting for me to finish HBO’s Inland Northwest roundup, you can take this Billings Gazette quiz re: Iraq and Afghanistan that was put together by Billings seventh-graders here. I answered 7 of the 10 questions correctly.
It may not seem like it now, but newly passed legislation to consolidate Idaho elections is a 
good thing. When the law takes effect in 2011, myriad taxing entities will only have four dates on which to have an election. In the past, elections, especially school bonds and levies, could be scheduled for just about any time during the year. In addition to the primary election on the third Tuesday in May and the general election on the first Tuesday in November, the new law allows for school district elections to take place on the second Tuesday in March and the last Tuesday in August/Murf Raquet, Moscow-Pullman Daily New. More here.
Question: Do you support the action by legislators to consolidate Idaho elections onto four dates? Did you know that Coeur d’Alene is holding a school trustee election Tuesday?
A new Gallup poll about abortion found that 51 percent of Americans identified themselves as “pro-life,” compared with 42 percent who say they are “pro-choice.” Gallup says this is the first time that a majority of U.S. adults have identified themselves as “pro-life” since the pollster began asking this question in 1995. Among women, 49 percent were “pro-life” and 44 percent were “pro-choice.” The survey of 1,015 adults was taken May 7-10 and has a margin of error of 3 percent/Strange Bedfellows, Seattle P-I. More here. Washington Post story here.
Question: Surprised?
This triptych, made Wednesday from the Post Street Bridge, shows the Spokane River and falls. Their shape and flow have morphed according to human commerce and catastrophe, including the Great Fire of 1889. (Christopher Anderson/Spokesman-Review)
If I may be immodest for a second, in the past 3 years I have taken 24 exams, written 2 papers,
6 memos, 3 briefs, 8 bench memos (for a judicial externship), and given 3 oral arguments, 4 presentations, and spent countless hours sitting in class, reading, and generally dreading the Socratic method - but today, it is over, I am done with law school. Through out it all, HBO has been a pleasant distraction, a momentary respite from my studies, and a procrastination crutch. I have appreciated it, even during the times when I thought the majority of posters on this site were nuts. Thanks.
Question: Anyone have a good lawyer joke are anecdote re: a closer encounter with an attorney, to properly welcome Idawa into the legal fraternity?
John Dahlen, back, Tim Slade, left, Jonathan Galin and Neal Haglund, who will compete in the upcoming 2009 World Beard and Moustache Championships coming to Anchorage, display their beards and moustaches in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday. More than 200 competitors from 12 countries, including Germany and Austria, will compete in the event hosted by the South Central Alaska Beard and Moustache Club. (AP Photo/Al Grillo) Question: Do men generally look good with facial hair?
The Washington Redskins won another legal victory this morning in a 17-year fight with a group of American Indians who argue the football team’s trademark is racially offensive. The decision issued Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington doesn’t address the main question of racism at the center of the case. Instead, it upholds the lower court’s decision in favor of the football team on a legal technicality. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File) Question: Should the Washington Redskins get with the times and jettison the offensive trademark “Redskins”? Or should they continue to fight for the traditional name?
CindyH: Remember tonsillectomies? When I was a kid it seemed like everyone had their tonsils removed. What was up with that? I’ve got four kids. Nobody wanted to yank out any of their tonsils, nor do I recall any of their friends have the surgery. (Follow-up Question: How many of your kids have had tonsillectomies?)
Item: Notre Dame president catches heat for Obama invite/AP
More Info: The Rev. John Jenkins … is getting plenty of criticism from Catholic leaders, students and alumni because of the university’s decision to invite President Barack Obama to deliver its commencement address and receive an honorary degree Sunday. Opponents of the invitation, including at least 70 bishops, say Obama’s support for abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research contradicts church teachings and that Jenkins has created a breach with the church.
Question: I’d like to hear from local Catholics on this one. Do you agree with Rev. Jenkins decision to invite President Barack Obama to deliver Notre Dame’s commencement address? Sunday.
There might be a question of the propriety of applying a law aimed at protecting private 
property to buildings owned by the public, but there is apparently little question Pentico, 42, has been a nuisance, and not just in Otter’s office. Still smoldering over a five-year-old dispute with Boise State University officials, he has also taken his complaint to Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, state school Superintendent Tom Luna, dozens of legislators and staff members of Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch. “He seems to think that if he comes 12 times, the answer will be different than the 11th time,” Otter spokesman Jon Hanian said Monday. Earlier, Otter himself defended his instruction to Idaho State Police officers to prevent Pentico from again entering the governor’s office. It was Pentico’s refusal to stay away that got him arrested April 2/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Should elected officials be required to put up with a bothersome person like Christopher Pentico, who may be respectful but wastes staff time because he can’t take no for an answer?
I saw a story from The Associated Press, “Tween-teen parents work to ward off summer 
boredom” (posted below). The story described the dilemma of how to keep young teens with working parents active and entertained during their summer vacations, particularly those kids too young to drive, get summer jobs, or whose families can’t afford to put them in summer camps or day programs. It got me thinking — I never really dealt with summer boredom growing up. But, looking back, I can see that my parents wisely had a plan of action to help keep my two siblings and me active in the summer months (really year-round, for that matter)/Kendel Murrant, 2C Etc., Idaho Press-Tribune. More here.
Question: How do/did you deal with the familiar summer complaint from your kids: “Mom (or Dad), I’m bored”?
Shirley and Chuck Young are not your ordinary great-grandparents. The North Idaho couple are raising their four great-grandchildren, ages 5 to 9. They’re praying to live long enough to see the children, who spent two years in foster care, through to graduation. Sunday, in the first installment of a two-part story in The Spokesman-Review, photographer Kathy Plonka and reporter Alison Boggs document the Youngs’ struggles and triumphs.
Question: Do you know any Seasoned Citizens who are forced by circumstances to raise their grandchildren.
In the HBO Poll Thursday, 20 of 39 (51%) Merry Hucksters said that Kootenai Medical Center had the best hospital food in the Inland Northwest. While 10 of 39 (26%) said Northwest Specialty/Post Falls was best. I hope the low vote means that few of you have had reason (injury, illness, etc.) to sample the hospital food in the area. (BTW, if you have a good question and answers for a poll, don’t hesitate to run them by me. I’m always looking for a good poll fodder.)
Brent Andrews:
I told her most of the people who ever (strip-searched) me never
seemed to relish that part of the job. They seemed to like everything
else better, in a way. It was just something they had to do because
people are crazy, they’ll try to hide drugs in their bottoms or
whatever and smuggle them into jail or the mental hospital or wherever.
Somebody has to look. I actually kind of feel for those people. They’re
probably not making enough money for a job like that.
Question: Can you think of a worse job than strip-searching a prisoner for drugs? (OK: I coulda asked you if you’d ever been strip-searched. But I have to draw the line somewhere. I think.)
JBelle: back in the day when the SR with rife with columnists and professional
staff, a couple of the women in Spokane came over here and got pretty
irate with our boy Oliveria over some 
chaunvinist thing or another he
supposedly said. Lord what a misunderstanding! :9 anyhoos, these wimmen
didn’t like it when the Hucksters jumped into the conversation to the
knees, with both cork boots on. Everybody here defended DFO’s thoughts
and The Wimmen Over There thought it was just deplorable the kind of
brawl that Oliveria referees here each day with the lack of respect and
all but as he pointed out, blogging and dialogue is NOT the Ivory Tower
of journalism and is quite different that selecting an idea, compiling
facts and then detailing your thoughts on this certain topic, on time
and in syntax. Full post below.
Question: We’ve certainly had some good times here. What is your favorite HBO memory?
Joe Butler: My favorite local medical-oriented dining spot is KMC, hands-down —
I’ve eaten there as a patient, as a family member of a patient, and
just for fun (it’s good, it’s healthy, and it’s cheap).They cook warm
stuff to order, always have a wide selection, different daily specials,
and you can get a complete meal or a snack almost any time of the day,
plus decent free coffee ‘round the clock.
Question: How many days in your life total have you spent in a hospital?
Kendramama: My husband is half-Mexican, Hispanic, whatever the current pc term is,
and ironically, maybe hysterically, rather- is the whitest guy I’ve
ever been with. He can’t dance, loves 
redneck stuff like huntin’,
fishin’, and “getting some good lovin’ ” from the little woman. (Yep,
that’s me- and oddly enough, I put up with my Suzie Homemaker/ Betty
Crocker role pretty well considering my sordid past. Although I feel a
bit of Betty Page in me still too.) He’s also got the strongest work
ethic, most solid, proven devotion, and by far the most integrity out
of any guy I’ve ever met- totally disproving the lazy, womanizing rep
most Hispanics tend to get pinned with. Of course, that’s true of
almost all racial stereotypes, but hey. He also doesn’t speak a word of Spanish, despises arid climates, and was born and raised in the Silver Valley.
Question: Can you speak Spanish?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
Huckleberries was told that the funeral for shooting victim Tim Wolfe, 21, of Worley, was so packed that the service was delayed for an hour because people kept arriving. The open-casket service was held at Plummer Middle School, with burial at Desmet, then dinner at Worley Long house. More tomorrow. Now, I’ll replay the Wild Card …
I didn’t plan to have a buxom mannequin, a naked statue, and now this, for the Parting Shot — an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Bikini Parade, on the Strip in Las Vegas Thursday. Mebbe it’s a sign that spring’s on the way. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Question: Are you ready to put a bathing suit on and head to City Beach? Or do you need to do more stomach crunches?
Tumblewords: I know several people with kidney transplants who are doing very well and have been for several years. Donor box is marked on my license and has been for ages - I know you’ll have the strength and support to carry on in whatever act follows next!
Question: Are you an organ donor?
Item: Mom taking action against son’s bully/KHQ
More Info: Spokane mom says her 10-year-old boy is being bullied at school and she’s not going to stand for it anymore. Miranda Swenson says her son, Mikey, has been attending Longfellow elementary school for a year and since the beginning of the year, another student has been harassing her son. Mikey tells KHQ it started with verbal taunts, which soon escalated into violence. He says the other student has gotten him into headlocks and punched him in the head and face and pushed him up against the wall.
Question: What would you do if your child was being bullied in school?
Lake City’s pitcher Lela Work fires one in during a rainy 5a softball game against the Borah Lions at Ramsey Field in Coeur d’Alene this afternoon. Lake City bested Borah 10-0 in a six-inning game shortened by the mercy rule. Meanwhile, Timberline edged Coeur d’Alene 1-0, registering the final out when a Vik runner was tagged out at the plate. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
A visitor takes picture of a sculpture “Nude No. 2” by China’s artist Mu Boyan at the Hong Kong International Art Fair in Hong Kong Wednesday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Top Cutlines:
Update (to 2:52 p.m. “accident): Sgt. Christie Wood said it was strange that that information (possible fatal accident @ Hanley & Ramsey) came over the scanner because there is no accident at that intersection but it will be the location of a “mock accident” scenario at the end of this month. In that scenario, two vehicles will be involved and there will be two fatalities. Wood is looking into it and wondered if someone was practicing for the pretend accident scenario in advance for some reason.
Anyone remember this few from the inside of Cafe Coeur d’Alene in 1986? You can find it and other vintage photos on OrangeTV’s Remember The Roxy site here.
HBO Numbers (for Wednesday, 5/13): 6907/4153
Question: Where were you living in May 1986?
On the From The Editor blog of the Idaho Press-Tribune, David Woolsey discusses a situation in Canyon County where other media outlets compromised the identity of an under-age sex 
abuse victim. They did so by naming her mother. Who was later arrested as part of the criminal investigation. All of which led Woolsey to wonder: “I also realize that in this day of blogs, the pressure to break news fast on the Web and with comments on many media sites, it’s really impossible to control the more precise relationship between the woman and the teenager. It almost seems like an ethic whose practical days have come and gone.” He goes on to say that the names of juveniles charged with adult crimes are revealed. And that victims or domestic abuse increasingly are allowing themselves to be interview to tell their stories. In this brave, new Internet world, Woolsey wonders if the media should continue to be so zealous in protecting certain identities. Closer to home, I wondered the same thing when we decided not to run the name of the man who committed suicide by jumping from the Veterans Memorial Bridge. Under our newspaper guidelines, we could have printed the name because the suicide was very public. Also, the sheriff’s department provided the name in a news release. I was a relieved when we decided not to print the name, for the family’s sake. I know and respect a member of the victim’s family. But I’m haunted as a journalist that we might have made the wrong call.
Question: Should the media be more open about naming names in sensitive cases?
Restaurant owner Kenny Tessel, who runs a Reading, Ohio barbecue restaurant, KT’s Barbeque, speaks during a board meeting in Reading, Ohio, today. The life-size mannequin stands as a busty beacon outside the restaurant. He told zoning officials at a hearing Wednesday night that the advertising gimmick has boosted business 40 percent. (AP Photo/The Cincinnati Enquirer, Michael E. Keating) Question: Are you so shallow that a gimmick like a busty mannequin would entice you into a restaurant?
Idaho’s Hispanic population has continued to increase at three times the rate of non-Hispanics, according to the latest U.S. Census figures. Overall, 10.2 percent of Idahoans are Hispanic, but the census found that in nine of Idaho’s 44 counties, all in southern Idaho, the figure was greater than 20 percent. The population of tiny Clark County is 40.4 percent Hispanic; Minidoka County, 30.2 percent; and Jerome County, 27.3 percent/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Item: Huge food fight at Washington school/KING5
More Info: At least 15 students are being expelled after a huge food fight at Henry M. Jackson High School in Mill Creek, Wash., Thursday. The fight happened around 11 a.m. One student told KING 5 News that several hundred students were involved. Everett School District spokesperson Mary Waggoner says 15 or 16 students will be expelled on an emergency basis. Nobody was injured.
Question: Have you ever been involved in a food fight? Describe it.
Modern-day heavy breathers now post crude, abusive comments to online newspaper articles 
where everyone can see. Most online media sites, Inlander.com included, require commenters to register. This way, computer IP addresses can be traced and blocked if needed. Not at the Coeur d’Alene Press, which has long been a haven for the type of posters the Internet community refers to as trolls. The Press comment threads were a writhing nest of race hate after last weekend’s fatal shooting. A post under the name Proud to Be White Girl gives the gist of it: “… all the mexicans and blacks are from cali coming over here giving us swine flu and making coeur d’ alene idaho trashy like California…”/Kevin Taylor, Inlander. More here (second item).
DFO: Izzit just me, or has the Press threads gone — thankfully — quiet since the Hagadone brain trust reinstituted registration?
Wayne Bolon washes away the spring grit and grime from the ramp into the Activity Center Wednesday in preparation of commencement ceremonies at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.(AP Photo/Lewiston Tribune, Kyle Mills)
On Wednesday, I drove to Post Falls and ate some really great hospital food. I’m not joking. 
The grub at Northwest Specialty Hospital, 1593 E. Polston Ave., is in a galaxy far, far away from the stereotypical slop that has made hospital food such a running gag. On Tuesday, for example, the lunch menu offered tenderloin medallions and lobster ravioli. The best part of all is that Northwest Specialty meals run $5 or less. Of course, there’s a catch. Isn’t there always? You can’t just walk in off the street and chow down. You have to be connected to the hospital À la staff, a patient or a patient’s family member or friends. Then you can dig into fabulous fare like Chilean sea bass, polenta with eggplant caponata, wonton-wrapped shrimp … The idea is to make your stay in the hospital more bearable/Doug Clark, SR. More here.
Question: Which area hospital serves the best food?
Looks like Chrysler wants to close two North Idaho dealerships. Ambassador Auto in Moscow and Taylor-Parker in Sandpoint are on the closure list. Also sounds like Chrysler wants them closed by June 6th. That’s quick. Why the rush? SR story here. 3 Idaho dealers to close/Statesman.
Question: Anyone out there drive a Chrysler? I never have. Are Chrylers decent cars?
Members of the Washington State Patrol investigate the death of a young Spokane woman in a crash involving a moose Thursday, near the Idaho state line on I-90. The crash happened Wednesday night, when four cars hit the moose, but there was only one fatality. Story here. Other media: KHQ, KXLY, and KREM. (Jesse Tinsley/Spokesman-Review)
Dear Friend, As Chairman of the Idaho Republican Party, I need your help. The Idaho Republican Central Committee and I realize that we can always improve how we listen to our supporters, how we communicate our message to all Idaho Republicans and how we put our resources to work as we serve Idaho. We are here to reaffirm our Party’s core values; and we are looking for your input in ways to enhance those values. We want to ensure that we understand which are the most critical changes needed in our Party. We also want your ideas for the most necessary changes required to promote responsible government/GOP Chairman Norm Semanko, in e-mail to Idaho Press-Tribune newsroom. More here. H/T: Editor Vickie Holbrook.
Question: Is Semanko jumping at shadows here? Obviously, the Idaho Republican Party continues to dominate state politics. What do you consider to be the party’s strengths? Weaknesses?
Gender identity won’t be on trial this June in Twin Falls County but it is difficult for many to believe otherwise. If you haven’t been following the story of Nastaran, or legally Majid, Kolestani, a transgender Iranian refugee accused in the shooting death of the man with whom she shared an apartment in Twin Falls, get caught up here. As PrideDEPOT boiled down the story back in March: “A request for a change in venue was denied in a murder trial that spotlights gender identity, ethnic diversity, media bias, and uncomfortable issues all contained within a predominately conservative community.” Predominately conservative indeed/MountainGoat Report. More here.
Question: Can a transgender refugee get a fair trial in Twin Falls? Could the individual get a fair trial in your Inland Northwest community?
In this image from NASA TV astronauts Drew Feustel, top, and John Grunsfeld work to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope during a spacewalk Thursday. Story here. (AP Photo/NASA TV)
Question: Are you interested in latest developments in our space program?
… From Kevin Taylor/Inlander (on the tailgate of an old Ford pickup truck downtown Spokane — blue body, green tailgate, spray-painted orange bumper, sagging wooden side racks): Keep On Truckin’ For Jesus.” Concludes KT: “Must work. The miracle is the truck is running!”
Question: How old was the oldest vehicle you’ve personally owned and driven (not counting vintage cars)?
If you see an armada of kayaks led by Julie Dalsaso this coming Saturday near the Blackwell Island marina here’s why: Along with the Kootenai Environmental Alliance, she wants citizens to look at the area where the Hagadone’s are planning to release 121,000 cubic yards of sediments so they can build a new port for luxury yachts with no regard to public health. This is the uppermost reach of the Spokane River, a popular spot for paddlers. But what lies beneath are heavy metals from a century of mining in Silver Valley. “The Lake Management Plan does not call for dredging of the lake bottom because it’s thought that leaving the contaminated soils in place is a safer management solution,” attorney Rick Eichstaedt said here at the Center For Justice. “So this proposal sets a negative precedent. We don’t have a plan for dealing with dredging like this in the lake”/Paul, Down To Earth. More here.
Question: Are you concerned about this proposal?
I was blithely going through my day, the normal humdrum of filing, typing, cataloging, typing, 
time entry, bla bla, more typing, and arrived home to the mail: A packet starting with the ominous “The Journey of Transplant Evaluation.” O boy. It’s several pages and forms to fill out to start the process of being evaluated to be placed on a kidney transplant list. I’m half excited about this. Actually I feel too good to really be considered for a transplant. I’ll probably go along like I do in sports - and be the last one on the list. Who knows? Evidently my doctor sent my name in to the transplant center - and also to social security. Did you know that I might be able to get Medicaid?/JeanieS, Nuts & Nonsense. More here.
Question: First, keep JeanieS in your thoughts and prayers as she starts her journey to better health. Now, this question: Do you know anyone who has gone through a kidney transplant?
Kootenai Environmental Alliance executive director Barry Rosenberg on Tubbs Hill on Monday. He is retiring after 7 1/2 years with KEA. Story here. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
In the HBO Poll Wednesday, 52 of 74 respondents (70%) said that Independent-turned-Repub elk farmer Rex Rammell can’t beat Gov. Butch Otter in a Republican gubernatorial primary. Only 19 of 74 (26%) said that he can. Three people were undecided.
Dan @ Avista:
I think moderating comments - at least here - seems to be working.
It’s like an editing award for the Oscars - how do I know what they
left out anyway? There are some yay-hoos, but that’s a reflection
of society. My question is this: should newspaper/online journalism resources
have different moderation rules than businesses who host a blog or
comments section? While HBO and the Press are associated with
news/journalism - would a business need to have a little tighter
control even if they want honest dialog and conversation?
Question: I’m working on some new ways to talk to our customers online and we want to do it the right way. Any suggestions? (Be gentle, Merry Hucksters; Dan’s seeking your thoughts. Not your jabs.)
Dreday01: i knew juan carlos (Murder suspect Juan C. Aldana Villanueva)..and its crazy to see that he did this..i dated him
for about a week or so..and 
just from that short time i knew him he was
a respectful and caring guy..what made him shoot this guy idk..but
honestly it wasnt a surprise..you know wen yew get those feelings wen u
meet someone ..like its just not right thats how i felt with him..he
was very nice tho..and im sad that this happend and my prayers go out
to the victims family..but like i said it didnt surprise me..he carried
a gun always talked about getting into fights getting kicked out out of
the bars..wat breaks my heart is he had a son about 3 years old..its
jus so sad.. =[
DFO: I’m gambling a little here that this is a legit comment from someone who knows murder suspect Juan C. Aldana Villanueva. My gut tells me that it is. Amid the outrage at this senseless killing, Dreday01 provides a reminder that this tragedy claims has consequences for friends and family on both sides.
CindyH: Omigosh, Ryan! What a terrible thing to know. Please, get rid of this feature ASAP! Can other people access this? Will everyone soon know the amount of time I spend commenting on HBO, instead of working? This is bad. Really bad.
Question: Check it out by clicking on your name in the comments section. What do you think of this new feature?
Stickman: I have never killed an animal for food or for fun. In Vietnam, when I
was a very young man, once in awhile an animal would penetrate our
perimeter and all hell would break out. Rock apes, stray cattle and
wild pigs would happen upon us. Then, like I said, all hell would break
loose and we would find pieces and blood in the morning. I always felt
sad for them, but never the enemy.
Question: How many of you served in Vietnam? Where were you stationed? What was your assignment?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
One person is dead, and both lanes of Interstate 90 are closed while law enforcement officials work to clear the scene after several separate cars collided with a moose. Washington State Patrol said three separate cars crashed into the moose running across the highway about 9:15 p.m., just west of the Stateline. “Sounds like a car eastbound hit it, then another westbound, and then another westbound,” said Trooper Troy Briggs/Sara Leaming, SR. More here.
A 2 1/2-year-old Coeur d’Alene boy is the subject of a major search in the wooded area at the 
end of Bunco Road in northern Kootenai County. Cooper Irwin, the son of Kevin and Holly Irwin, has been missing since about 1:45 p.m. from a farm house at the end of Bunco Road, where his family was visiting relatives. The boy was reported missing a half hour later. Area residents began looking for him immediately. The search has expanded to include rescuers from the sheriff’s office, Timberlake Fire District, a helicopter from Spokane, and a canine unit. The boy was described by sheriff’s spokeswoman Kim Edmondson as wearing blue sweat pants with red-and-white stripes, a blue flannel shirt over a white T-shirt and brown shoes with red socks. He is not dressed for the weather. Lt. Edmondson said the sheriff’s office may issue an Amber Alert.
The Gremlins must be hard at work today. Chris still is waiting on the techs to fix a hardware problem that has leveled Unequivocal Notion for two days. Blogmeister Ryan is about to roll out a fix to the problem that has caused Huckleberries Online to load soooo slooooowly. It should be rolled out this morning. (Remember, you still can see all the latest comments by clicking on the “Latest Comments” header in the right rail.) Meanwhile, on this day in history: in 1917, three peasant children near Fatima, Portugal, reported seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary (in the sky, not on a potato chip or restaurant grill). In 1950, Stevie Wonder was born. We’re now in the middle of Birth Defects Week. In the news this evening, radio host Michael Savage appeals to Hillary Clinton to help get his name removed from Brit ban list here. And the Wednesday Wild Card is in play …
This undated image provided by Neil Cuadra shows Cuadra in Los Angeles with his “MAD Magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman” mural created with thousands of old CDs, which was published in the Letters to the Editor section of MAD Magazine 500th issue. (AP Photo/Courtesy Neil Cuadra) Question: Did you read Mad magazine as a kid?
When your parents start acting like your kids. You 20 -30 years olds with 50 and 60 year old parents have no idea what you are in for. No clue, unless you dealt with your grandparents. And somehow that is different than when it is your parent. The parent who has always been in charge. Those of you who are 50 or 60 years old with parents who are 80 and 90 year old know what I am talking about. That is when they say what is on their minds or do what impish thing you would never dream of them doing/Cis, Simple Mind. More here.
Question: What has been your experience with aging parents?
Item: Obama moves to prevent release of detainee photos: The images of alleged abuse could turn more against America and endanger U.S. troops, he says. Liberal advocacy groups denounce the move/Los Angeles Times
More Info: Reporting from Washington — In a dramatic reversal, President Obama said today that he would seek to block the release of dozens of photographs depicting alleged abuse of detainees by U.S. soldiers, arguing that the disclosures would “further inflame anti-American opinion” and “put our troops in greater danger.”
Question: Should the photos be released?
Sean Topp, a former Post Falls High standout, is the Sasquatch’s top pitcher. She will lead the Community Colleges of Spokane into this weekend’s NWAACC Championships in Portland. Story here.
American cyclist David Zabriskie, left, looks at his teammate Christian Vande Velde who lies on the road after falling during the third stage of the Giro d’Italia, Tour of Italy cycling race, from Grado to Valdobbiadene Monday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
Top Cutlines:
3. Do we have to put your training wheels back on? — Charlie.
HM: KeithinCDA & MikeS
Bent and a buddy rode their bikes to the ribbon-cutting for the Kathleen Avenue connector trail Tuesday — and provided this photo of Mayor Sandi Bloem and local children doing the honors. You can read more about this important event and see more of Bent’s photos from the Kootenai MPO site here. Coeur d’Alene Today story here.
A reception is planned from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday for City Clerk Chris Pappas, who is retiring after 31 years with the city of Post Falls.
Item: Foreclosures drop in Spokane, soar in Kootenai County/Bert Caldwell, SR
More Info: The April home foreclosure rate in Kootenai County jumped 52 percent from March, and almost five-fold from last April, according to statistics released Wednesday by RealtyTrac Inc., an online marketplace for foreclosed properties. In Spokane, meanwhile, foreclosures dropped significantly month-over-month and year-over-year. One out of every 207 properties in Kootenai County, a total 283 properties, was the subject of either a default notice or notice of trustee sale. In March, a total 189 received notices, and in April 2008 just 61.
Question: Do you know anyone who has lost — or is in danger of losing — his home to foreclosure?
At Dogwalk Musings, the blogmistress wonders about those flaggers that are standing at the median of Highway 95 intersections to protect fresh concrete from vandals here.
In this photograph taken between March 1945 and October 1946 and supplied by Troy Waters, Mike the Headless Chicken of Fruita, Colo., is shown with an unidentified person. Residents of Fruita, a western Colorado town of 11,000, are holding their 12th annual festival this weekend for the chicken named Mike, who lived for 18 months after a farmer lopped off his head with an ax but left his brain stem, a jugular vein and one ear intact. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Troy Waters) Question: Have you ever chopped a chicken’s head off?
In this 2006 photo, a woman sets out vegetables at the farmers market in downtown Coeur d’Alene. Lori Hutson provides a rundown on Farmers Market activity throughout the Inland Northwest here. Question: Where do you buy your starter plants and garden supplies?
Howard Martinson: Somewhat of a surprise, I’ve seen nothing today about the two moose in Riverstone Park last evening. They were having a major dinner, feasting on the shrubs, bushes and immature decorative trees near the bandshell. What a fantastic site to see them right here in town.
Question: How many of you have been privileged to see a Moose on the Loose — a real one — in the last two years or so?
The gax tax passed and was implemented on April Fool’s Day (1997). Maybe that was the key. Idahoans thought it was a hoax and didn’t notice the difference at the pump, where the price at the time was about $1.20 a gallon. OK, probably not, since S-R opinion writer D.F. Oliveria called for that tax – and an earlier federal bump of 4.3 cents – to be reversed: “Repeal both gas tax hikes and give us working stiffs a fighting chance at the pumps.” Guess that scared lawmakers straight, because they haven’t dared touch the tax since. Nor have they found sufficient revenue for road upkeep/Gary Crooks, Smart Bombs. More here.
Question: If I knew at the time I was on the Editorial Board that I had that kind of influence over the Idaho Legislature, I woulda told them to repeal the sales tax on food, too. Which Idaho tax do you like least?
Rex Rammell has had to change the colorful graphics on his giant, decorated “Conservative Express” RV twice in the last month and a half. First, he changed, “Time for a new kind of Senator” to “Time for a new kind of Congressman,” when the former independent candidate for U.S. Senate decided to take on U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson next year in the GOP primary … Then, the graphics had to be readjusted again - now “Congressman” has been replaced with “Governor”//Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Raymond Pert:
I saw Star Trek at 11:15 a.m (Monday) here in Eugene. The theater was about half full, maybe less, and I swear I was the youngest member of the audience, and I’m in my mid-fifties. I didn’t see anyone dressed in uniform. It’s funny. When I’m in an audience with people my age and older, I still think I’m like fifteen and find myself saying, “What are all these old f**ts doing here, and then I go to the men’s room, wash my hands, look up at the mirror, and the truth hits me. I’m not fifteen and I’m one those old f**ts, too. <shakes head..chuckles>
Question: Anyone out there willing to admit that you’re an Old Fart? When did you come to that realization?
For those keeping score at home, racists and other kibitzers can no longer comment on two stories involving the tragic slaying of Coeur d’Alene Tribe member Tim Wolfe, 21, of Worley. You can pay $2.95 to find the stories in the archives, involving the shooting and first appearance. But can’t comment on them. A Saturday morning breaking story — before the police arrested suspect Juan Vallenueva — remains in the comments section, with a sanitized thread. Meanwhile, a Berry Picker reports this morning that the Press again is requiring commenters to provide a Username and Password. Stay tuned.
ME: I would love it if we could have a good back and forth on illegal immigration here. Unfortunately, it never happens. If you do not support ILLEGAL immigration, you are a racist and there is no way around it. So then the back and forth never happens. It’s sad, because I would like to actually hear something from those who support it and why they do.
Question: It’s never too late to request a discussion on HBO. ME wants those of you who support illegal immigration to explain why (and leave your race cards at the door).
The top of a dandelion seed head is seen in the morning light in Marysville, Pa., Wednesday. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Question: Are you bugged by the dandelions in your yard? Are do you take a live and let grow attitude toward them (and bug persnickety neighbors)?
Item: Woman says waitress shot her in dispute over food/wltx.com
More Info: That’s when it got ugly. Samuel says she threw a waffle at the waitress. “I did actually throw some food but it didn’t hit her,” says Samuel. “That’s when she (Ward) jumped across the counter and we got into it,” says Samuel. Clarendon County Sheriff Randy Garrett says the altercation continued outside where he says Ward got a gun from her car and a gun magazine from her trunk.
Question: What kind of tip is appropriate, if your waitress shoots you?
Longtime musician Chuck Borris of Post Falls has written a song which he performs occasionally at the Rockin’ B Ranch near the Idaho-Washington border. It tells the history of Spokane Bridge, Washington. Never heard of it? It was a tiny settlement where Interstate 90 crosses the state line and several landmark events happened nearby and many influential historical figures passed through in the 19th century. Those events illustrate the clash of cultures between the original peoples from the Coeur d’Alene, Kootenai and Spokan Tribes and the white military and settlers, sometimes with tragic results. Although little is left of the town from its pioneer heyday, the Rockin’ B Ranch, a cowboy supper show housed in an original old barn, continues to share the history. Photographer Jesse Tinsley assembled this video of Borris performing his song to a slideshow of old photos from the surrounding area.
Question: What do you think of Chuck Borris’ song?
Pentico puts a human face to conservatives’ frustration with Otter. The Pentico case resonates 
with many of the same critics who believe Otter has abandoned his conservative principles, by pushing for gas tax and vehicle registration fees during a recession. Where a younger Otter was brash and stubbornly libertarian, the gubernatorial Otter now labels Pentico as “disruptive.” Disruptive? Perhaps a little more than Otter imagined. No offense to Boise’s Twitter nation and Downtown coffee aficionados, but I think the Pentico issue has some staying power/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Do you agree with Kevin that Butch Otter’s brush with ‘disruptive’ conservative ideologue Christopher Pentico will come back to haunt him in his next GOP primary?
Once again, the Idaho Republican Party has shown that it is the party of ideas, leading the way. 
It is the party of so many ideas, in fact, that most of them contradict each other. Some Republicans support raising the gas tax to finance road repair, and some Republicans don’t. Some come to Boise to praise public school teachers, and some come to bury them. Some think restaurateurs should be able to offer you a cocktail before dinner, and some think you’ve had enough already. Some think Idaho should spend federal stimulus dollars to relieve the effects of a serious economic recession, and some think Idaho should tell Uncle Sam to get lost, as soon as he mails the farm subsidy checks/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Most of us realize the 2009 Legislature stunk it up. We’ve focused on the “losers” in the latest Capitol Go Round. Who were the winners emerging from the session?
The writer Henry Willard Austin once said that what appears to be genius is often “but perseverance in disguise.” Coeur d’Alene may have relied on both to bring the city’s impressive new community center to reality. A measure of good fortune helped, too. Officially known as the Salvation Army Kroc Corps Community Center, the $38 million facility opened its doors Monday to a boisterous turnout that proves a quarter of a century without such a facility was not due to any lack of public interest/SR Editorial Board. More here.
Question: Now that the Kroc Center & CdA library have opened to rave reviews, are you more enthused and supportive of the proposed Education Corridor?
Jacob Martin, 8, his brother Samuel, 6, and their dad, Mark, stand in Garnet Road a mile from their home where they saw a wolf at midday several weeks ago. Story here. (Ralph Bartholdt/St. Maries Gazette-Record photo)
Question: Are the wolves getting too close for comfort?
In the HBO Poll Tuesday, 43 of 62 (69%) of the respondents said that the District 5 delegation (Hammond, Nonini & Henderson) performed the poorest of the five North Idaho delegations in the 2009 Legislature. In a distant second was District 2 (Broadsword, Shepherd & Harwood), with 7 votes or 11%.
Raymond Pert: My two years at North Idaho College (1972-74) turned my life around
and pointed me in the direction I am still following. Every day I go
before a class of students, I try to give to them what the generous and
passionate instructors at NIC gave to me. Jim McLeod, Annette Bignall, Virginia Tinsley-Johnson, Rick Frost, Joyce Boswell, Tony Stewart, George Cook, and Robert Singletary.
Question: Can you name and describe a teacher who had a big impact on you?
OrangeTV:
If we just turn off the acrid, narrow-minded comments, I’m afraid
the racism would just fester and grow in the dark. That comments board
shines a light on these morons and gives people a chance to confront
them and hopefully get across the message that they speak for a very
small minority of Idahoans. Unfortunately,in an anonymous forum, these cockroaches seem immune
to the spotlight and don’t easily scatter. i’d love to see what those
trolls would do if someone traced their IP addresses and published
their comments under their real names. They’d shrivel up like slugs in salt.
DFO: In her column Monday, Seattle Times columnist Nicole Brodeur cited “John Gabriel’s Greater Internet (Expletive) Theory.” It goes: “Normal person+Anonymity +Audience=Total (Expletive).” Are you bolder writing online under a pseudonym than you are in person?
Blogmeister Ryan: (For the truly nerdy out there, what I found this morning was two
queries that 
took 18 seconds each to execute - this function was being
triggered every 2 minutes to fill out the “recent comments” list in the
sidebar box and the “latest comments” thread. The new code collapses
that function into one 94ms query. Heh.) Once the change is in place, we’ll need to run a quick update script
to re-save all existing comments. While that’s running, you may notice
a few quirks in comment counts and the “recent comments” lists, but
then everything should be good to go. Full post below.
CindyH: I like it when Ryan talks nerdy :-)
Nick Anderson/Houston Chronicle
On this day in history: In 1948, the state of Israel and its provisional government was established. In 1978, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that they would no longer exclusively name hurricanes after women. In 1820, Florence Nightengale was born. In the news today, The FDA blasts General Mills for its claims re: Cheerios here. And: Miss California will keep her crown despite the controversy she created with comments about gay marriage here. Now, for your Wild Card …
A raccoon peers out from a hole in a tree in a ravine in Moreland Hills, Ohio recently. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
“White folks have been killing Indians for a long time, probably time to give some other race a shot at it… ” — commenter Oh Well posted at 3:20 p.m. on Coeur d’Alene Press Web site. (I hear from my sources on the rez that leadership and tribe members are outraged by the racist comments attracted by the tragic shooting death of Tim Wolfe.)
Update: The Press finally deleted this statement 2 hours after it was posted.
From the Emergency Email Network: The Natl Weather SVC in Spokane has issued a Freeze Watch. Which is in effect from from late Tues Night through Wednesday morning. Under clearing skies & light winds Tues night temps are expected to fall to below freezing late Tues night into early Wed morning. Precautionary/preparedness actions. A Freeze Watch means sub-freezing temps are possible. These conditions could kill crops & other sensitive vegetation/Right Mind. More here.
Question: When do you plan to plant your warm-weather vegetables and flowers?
Many of North Idaho’s rivers are flowing fast as the snow continues to melt in the mountains. We’ve had some pre-summer sun of late, making a dip in the water inviting but everyone needs to pay attention to the signs … such as this one at Corbin Park on the Spokane River/Councilwoman KerriT, OnLocation North Idaho.
A cat tosses a mole into the air Monday, near Maysville, Ky. Upon hitting the ground, the mole quickly disappeared. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/The Ledger Independent, Terry Prather.)
Bedwell started taking classes at NIC four years ago with help through the Center for New Directions, which helps non-traditional college students enroll in college services. She had dropped out of high school when she was married at 16, but later earned a GED in 1979. But it wasn’t until the 1990s that she began to feel a true calling to complete her education, she said. After remarrying, she and her husband Clifford Bedwell opened their own logging company. Bedwell Logging was thriving until Clifford was in a logging accident in 1994 that rendered him disabled and forced the couple to shut down the company/Stacy Hudson, NIC Press Room. More here.
Question: Did a community (or junior) college play an important role in your secondary education?
The nutrients
are rich and rare,
and yet it’s much
like chewing air.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
I was a terrible but extremely earnest player. I never did make it to a base – so no need to worry about stealing 2nd or 3rd – I never got to 1st. The legend of my lack of prowess got to be so bad, that BOTH teams would root for me. I caught a ball, playing shortstop. I mean, I actually caught a fly ball. I’m hopping up and down and shouting, “I caught it! I caught it!” and then realized that every one on both sides is doing the same thing. All jumping up and down and screaming “She caught the ball! She honestly caught the ball!” The game stopped so we could all regroup. Even the people on the bases stood still instead of running for all they were worth/JeanieS, Nuts & Nonsense. More here.
Question: How coordinated are you? As a child, in other words, were you sought after, when your classmates choose sides. Or were you picked last?
This weekend’s Depot Days in Wallace kicked off the classic car show season in North Idaho. Next Thursday through Sunday is Lost in the ‘50s in Sandpoint, then comes Car d’Lane June 12 & 13 and Post Falls’ River City Rod Run July 17 & 18. Most community celebrations include car shows, we love our old cars!/Councilwoman KerriT, OnLocation North Idaho.
This undated file photo shows actors in the TV series “Star Trek,” from left, Leonard Nimoy as Commander Spock, William Shatner as Captain Kirk, DeForest Kelley as Doctor McCoy and James Doohan as Commander Scott. (AP Photo/Paramount Television ,File) Question: So which characters worked and which didn’t in the new “Star Trek”? And what did you think of the movie overall?
The leadership at this paper is struggling with how to do that while maintaining some measure 
of intelligent debate and human decency. Do we let commenters rip in this, a free country? Or monitor them by the minute, and clean up the trash as soon as it hits the site? And who decides what is trash, anyway? Last month, former Washington Post executive editor Doug Feaver wrote a blog post defending “the anonymous, unmoderated, often appallingly inaccurate, sometimes profane, frequently off-point and occasionally racist reader comments” on that newspaper’s site. It was a big change, because Feaver, like many editors, has worked to maintain standards, while still giving readers a forum to vent. Commenting allows readers to complain about what they see as unfairness or inaccuracy in news stories; to talk to each other, “And, yes,” Feaver wrote, “to bloviate”/Nicole Brodeur, Seattle P-I. More here.
Question: Has Huckleberries Online struck the right balance in moderating the comments thread? Would you prefer a fairly unmoderated comments section like the Press has?
Tim Wolfe, a member of the Salish Kootenai College national championship basketball team, 
played in a four-on-four league at the college Thursday night, and participated in a shoot-around with his teammates after classes Friday before heading home to Idaho for Mother’s Day weekend. By Saturday, those same teammates were on the road to Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene to say goodbye to Wolfe. The 21-year-old was murdered early Saturday morning, shot in the head as he and a group of friends were walking downtown. SKC men’s basketball coach Zach Camel said Wolfe’s mother kept her son, a member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe from nearby Worley, on life support until everyone could get to Coeur d’Alene to say a final farewell/Vince Devlin, Missoulian. More here.
Travel promotion ads created for Montana feature the idea “There’s Nothing Here.” This photo of Glacier National Park is part of that campaign. More here.
Question: What appeals to you most about Montana?
My son and daughter like to bicker with each other. It’s always been a mild form of pestering, poking and finger pointing. Kind of like how Congress works with each other. So, it hasn’t been the quality of the bickering that was wearing me down, but rather the sheer quantity of it. I was just plain tired of hearing them constantly pick at each other over every little inane thing. And I let it get to me. I turned their bickering into anger and stress, and they couldn’t understand why I was getting so mad for what was really rather innocuous behavior on their part. One day a few weeks ago, I read an article in Newsweek magazine titled “In Defense of Bickering”, and all sorts of lightbulbs went off in my head. Just like that, I was a changed dad/Idaho Dad, A Family Runs Through It. More here.
Question: Did you bicker with your siblings?
This May 30, 2008, file image taken from a surveillance video and provided by the Hartford Police Department shows a man, lying in the street, center frame, just after a car hit him. The man was tossed like a rag doll by a hit-and-run driver, and car after car zoomed by as he laid motionless on the busy city street. The victim, Angel Arce Torres who was left paralyzed and mute died Monday night after being removed from life support. (AP Photo/Hartford Police Dept.)
Question: Is this an isolated incident? Or are we Americans becoming this calloused?
Evelyn Irvin doesn’t seem to mind the mostly vast differences of age groups surrounding her at NIC. “They’re all nice,” she said, laughing softly. “And I like to be around younger people. It makes you kind of younger.” Irvin is 91 years young, yet still the oldest student on campus. “People think it’s so different when they hear someone my age is attending NIC but I go on like I always have,” said Irvin. “It’s no big deal.” Evelyn took a Yoga class at NIC for the fall semester. “I liked it because it’s so relaxing and restful.” She plans on taking another yoga class this summer. “I played basketball in high school, but I’ve never really been into sports,” Irvin said. “I took yoga because you need as much stretching as you can get”/Lana Burnette, NIC Sentinel. More here.
Question: What do you plan to be doing at 91 years old?
Item: Finding a toilet could get easier in Washington/AP
More Info: The original proposal required retailers without public restrooms to allow people with inflammatory bowel diseases to use employee restrooms, if they had an identification card or a letter from a doctor or nurse. That provision remains in the new law. But it also requires businesses to allow any customer to use an employee restroom if three or more employees are working at the time, and the request doesn’t pose a security risk.
Question: Do you support this law in which retailers are required to allow any customer to use their private restrooms, if more than 3 employees are working?
At a time when many Republicans believe their best course is to oppose everything a Democratic president and a Democratic majority choose to do, it is comforting to know that some are still willing to work across the aisle for the good of the country. Freshman Democrat Walt Minnick from Idaho’s 1st District has repeatedly shown he is unafraid to vote with Republicans when he thinks they are right, and Simpson continues to vote with Minnick’s party when he agrees with them. That speaks well of both House members from Idaho, and of the voters who elected them/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Would you prefer that Idaho Congressmen Mike Simpson and Walt Minnick were more partisan?
In this Feb. 27, 2002, SR file photo by Torsten Kjellstrand/SR, Lakeside fan Charlotte Nilson of Plummer cheers for her son Tim Wolfe during the 1A boys basketball in Caldwell. With Nilson are her other children Jordan, 4, left, and Christina, 6. Charlotte’s husband Jim cheers behind. Wolfe, who was gunned down in Coeur d’Alene Saturday morning was a star athlete at Lakeside High in Plummer.
The victim, Wolfe, was a star athlete at Lakeside High School in Plummer and one of a small
group of his graduating class to go on to college, said Mike Sifford, a lifelong friend. Wolfe studied and played basketball at Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, Mont., but he returned to Worley often to visit his girlfriend and 16-month-old daughter, Sifford said. “Everything was always about his little girl,” Sifford said. “The thing about Tim is he always excelled. There was never a peak or plateau for Tim; he just kept getting better at what he did.” The tribal and Plummer-Worley communities are reeling from Wolfe’s death, Sifford said, and no funeral plans have been announced/Meghann Cuniff, SR. More here.
DFO: I don’t know if there’s anything left to be said re: this senseless killing. But I’m posting this because Meghann wrote a thorough story that humanizes the victim. I found the 2002 photo in the SR archives. Remember to hug your children today.
“It’s just great,” said Judy Cerenzia, left of Hayden Lake as she and Becky Waller, of Coeur d’Alene worked out at the Salvation Army Kroc Center Monday. See story below. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
The late, great Fatso the Keyboard Cat is now an Internet sensation thanks to the music video Charlie Schmidt recorded back in the early 1980s in Spokane. (Courtesy of Charlie Schmidt)
History is littered with great artists who were ignored and unappreciated while alive, only to find
fame after shedding their mortal coil. And so it is for an orange Spokane cat named Fatso. Fatso, alas, gave up her ninth and final life in 2000. But the cat lives again on the Internet because of the brief, hilarious music video she recorded back in the early 1980s. In it, Fatso tickles the ivories with outstretched paws a la classical musicians like Catzart, say, or Stravinskitty. She plays a jaunty, simple tune. “Doot-doot, doot-doot …” This is without a doubt one of the silliest things ever. That may partly explain why Keyboard Cat has become a cyberspace sensation. (Mass insanity or the overall decline of civilization has my votes for the rest of the equation.)/Doug Clark, SR. More here.
Question: What kinds of tricks can your pet do?
In the HBO Poll Monday, 25 of 61 respondents (41%) said the best North Idaho delegation comes from District 4 (Goedde, Chadderdon & Sayler), closely followed by District 1 (Keough, Anderson & Eskridge), with 20 of 61 votes (33%). In a distant third was District 5 (Hammond, Nonini & Henderson), with 9 of 61 votes (15%). In last place was District 3 (Jorgenson, Clark & Hart) with 2 votes.
Lynne: I just wish the service would bounce back. I used to be really impressed with the service. Now it sucks! I received my April and May Cosmo subscriptions Friday before last. June’s issue showed up the following Monday. My mom sent DH a birthday card at the end of March. He received it at the end of April. Our mail used to arrive around 10:30 in the morning. Now I’m lucky if it’s here by 2:00 when I leave.
Question: Are you satisfied with the service provided by the U.S. Postal Service today?
Bent: Yeah, Spokelooneh, I work in downtown spokane. This morning I carpooled
into Sullivan 
with my wife and rode to a meeting at Centerplace in
valley. When I got out, it was raining pretty hard, so I rode to the
Mirabeau Park n Ride and took the bus to downtown. Then I rode to work
from the plaza. Still got five miles or so — despite the weather. Then
it cleared up so I rode a six mile loop at lunch and then to meeting on
foothills, and then took the bus to liberty lake after work and rode
home to Post Falls. Then I had to walk to the dogs…I’m going to be sore tomorrow.
Question. If the weather clears, are you going to ride your bike to work this week, which is Ride To Work Week?
Nick Adams: I’m loathe to criticize technology since I have first-hand knowledge of
how tough it is to make things like HBO work. But, Sweet Jesus! If I
had a nickel for every time I get an “Internet Explorer cannot display
the web page” since the new site was launched, I’d be able to buy a
place next to imhoff on Lake CDA.
Question: No question the server and blogware now being used by HBO needs an enema. Big time. I can’t scroll from one comments page to the next without this system seizing up. Then, the hope I hang onto is the plans to switch HBO to its own Web site this summer. Help me out here. Did the old blogware operate better than the current one? I can’t remember.
Brent Andrews: I got back on Facebook the other day. Everyone around me is on
Facebook, 
plus Idaho friends, high school friends, so many friends some
of them are actually not my friends but people I’d rather not see
again, so I have to ignore the “suggestion” that I become friends with,
for example, this very cute potential girlfriend from middle school who
humiliated me in a way I can forgive and forget - but not so much that
I want to be friends again, even pretend Facebook friends. Facebook is
hogging a lot of my time again. I think about it too much.
Question: Which sites take up most of your time online?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
The KCSD has released the name of the suicide victim who jumped from the Veterans Memorial Bridge Friday. But the SR has decided not to print the name, as is our general policy re: suicides. Now, onward. On this day in history: in 1858, Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd state. In 1927, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded. In 1904 Salvador Dali was born. In 1981, legendary musician Bob Marley died. In the news today, a US soldier goes berserk, killing 5 fellow soldiers in a conseling center in Baghdad here. And the Monday Wild Card is in play.
At Luby Campground on Priest Lake, Pecky Cox/As The Lake Churns caught this superb photo of a girl named Shyla getting an inside look at the handiwork of Mother Nature in North Idaho.
From a Berry Picker: “The Kroc center is packed right now with people signing up. John Chamness told me it’s a better than expected response. Well over 2000 memberships this far. The citizens of CdA are overwhelmingly supporting this place.” (If you see Larry Spencer, can you tell him that Huckleberries Online is looking for a comment from him? ;-)
Around 2 a.m. Saturday, Wolfe (shooting victim Tim Wolfe, pictured) and three of his friends left the bar and were walking along 3rd Street to their car. Wolfe’s friend said Villaneuva drove past them several times, then
stopped, asked ”what’s up?”, and shot Wolfe in the face before driving
off. Villaneuva told detectives he was looking to find Wolfe’s group, knowing he had a handgun. Villaneuva claims when he stopped on 3rd
Street, either Wolfe or his friend started hitting him in the face.
That’s when he pulled out his gun and fired once. Later that morning police found Villaneuva hiding in the restroom at the restaurant they say he worked at. They say his upper and lower lips were swollen. A judge decided not to set bond for Villaneuva/KREM2. More here.
At As The Lake Churns, Pecky Cox calls this scenic, “Fishing On The Clouds.” Do I need to explain why?
Hungarian bodybuilders have their photo taken backstage during the IFBB International Fitness Cup in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday. At the tournament more than 250 participants contested in several fitness and bodybuilding categories. You write the cutine. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
Top Cutlines:
The joke in question? “Rush Limbaugh said he hopes this administration fails,” Sykes said.
“So you’re saying, ‘I hope America fails.’ You’re like, ‘I don’t care
about people losing their homes, their jobs, our soldiers in Iraq.’ He
just wants the country to fail. To me, that’s treason. “He’s not saying anything differently than what Osama bin Laden is
saying. You know, you might want to look into this, sir, because I
think Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker. But he was just so strung
out on OxyContin he missed his flight.” Not everyone laughed at that joke. She recognized it and said, “Too much?” If it was, that didn’t stop her. “Rush Limbaugh, I hope the country fails; I hope his kidneys fail,
how about that?” she continued. “He needs a good waterboarding, that’s
what he needs”/Christian Science Monitor. More here.
Question: Did comedian Wanda Sykes go too far in saying that she wishes Rush Limbaugh’s kidneys would fail? Or are critics simply being thin-skinned.
Earlier today, I posted this Sunday comment from Bent: “Hey, I think I just saw “ME” on the freeway going from Cd’A to the HWY 41 exit in Post Falls. She had her top down, and a black visor holding that blonde hair from flapping in the wind… I got a (non-identifying) cell phone pic for DFO if he wants it! My wife just shook her head and said: “what if it’s not her, she’s going to call you in for stalking …” I suppose that’s just risk a blogger has to take sometimes ;-)” Later, ME admitted it was her, with her new wheels.
Tyler Frost, right and his prom date Rebecca Smooty, left are interviewed by several local media outlets prior to attending Findlay High Schools prom Saturday night. Frost says he expects to be suspended from a Christian school for attending a public school prom with his girlfriend. Story here. (AP Photo/KENT TARBOX/The Courier)
Question: What do you think of this situation?
Update: Meghann Cuniff’s story
Murder suspect Juan C. Aldana Villanueva, 22, a Honduran living in Post Falls, will continue to 
be held without bond in the Kootenai County Jail, following his first appearance in court this afternoon. Although Marty Rapp of the prosecutor’s office asked that bail be set at $1 million, Judge Jim Stow refused to set bail for Villanueva, who is considered a flight risk. The prosecutor’s office doesn’t know whether or not Villanueva is a legal immigrant. It couldn’t find a Social Security number for him. Villanueva, whose car is registered in Washington, was described as a “hard worker” who sends money home by a woman who considered himself to be his “American mother.” Villanueva is accused of gunning down Coeur d’Alene Tribe member Timothy I. Wolfe, 21, of Worley, after 2 a.m. Saturday at 3rd and Indiana after a confrontation at a Coeur d’Alene bar.
Kay Rene Qualls, left, of Heppner, Ore., and DeeAnn Shafer, of Richland, Wash., pose for a photo in front of the Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Heppner, Ore. They found out recently that they were switched shortly after being born 56 years ago. (AP Photo/E.J. Harris, East Oregonian)
Question: Have you ever felt that you were switched at birth, considering the family that raised you — and your extended family?
A Coeur d’Alene woman who reports she is constantly harassed by neighbors on the third floor 
of her apartment building on Spurwing, off East Hanley Avenue, was shot in the chest by a pellet Sunday afternoon. She believes one of her harassers shot her after she put sugar in her bird feeder in the back yard. According to CPD Blue reports, the woman told police that the males have spit through the cracks in the wood of the patio above and dropped cigarette butts trying to hit her. She said the males regularly have taunted her and often shoot their pellet guns from the balcony. Following one incident, she called the police only to be told by one of the males afterward: “This ain’t over (expletive deleted).” She reported she heard laughing from the males apartment after she was shot. But all the males claimed innocence when they were confronted by police. The pellet left a black bruise about the size of a quarter on her left breast. Police confiscated the males’ pellet gun, pellets on the ground below the apartment, and one pellet in the area the woman was shot.
Question: What can/should be done about this situation?
Steve Barnhart says it’s a miracle his young son survived a gruesome farm accident last week in North Idaho. “We expect a full recovery,” the father said today, adding that the family wants to thank the public for an outpouring of support and prayers. The 4-year-old boy, Tytus, was sitting on a tractor pulling a 7-foot-wide rototiller when he fell off Thursday evening. The tiller rolled over the child, fracturing his skull and causing several large cuts/Scott Maben, SR. More here.
A Post Falls contractor killed last Friday in an accident at Spokane County Raceway was identified this morning at Bob L. Arndt, of Post Falls. Arndt was the owner of Quality Maintenance, a company that specializes in parking lot work, according to a Web site listing. The Spokane County medical examiner performed an autopsy this morning on Arndt and ruled that he died accidentally from multiple fractures and trauma/Mike Prager, SR. More here.
In this Friday photo, Filly, a 2 1/2-year-old border collie, gets attention from her master, Bob Hood, maintenance supervisor at the airport after scaring birds from the runway in North Bend, Ore. Filly works at the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport in North Bend, clearing birds from the runway. A job made for her. On the ride to the runway in the truck she ran back and forth and made sounds as if to say, lets get to work. (AP Photo/The World, Madeline Steege)
Maybe now would be a good time to hold off on new magazine subscriptions. At least those sold door to door. The Better Business Bureau sent out regional and national warnings last week about a rite of summer – shady businesses that use young people to sell magazines door to door under faulty premises or without delivering on the subscriptions/Shawn Vestal, SR. More here.
Question: Do you ever buy from door-to-door solicitors?
In this Friday photo, a man holds up pants that are worn well below the waist, as he walks on a street in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee is trying to become the first state to prod teenagers to pull up their pants by fining them up to $250 and 160 hours of community service for wearing the saggy pants style. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Question: Would you like to see Idaho or Washington pass such a law?
Item: Banning a citizen from a public building is cause for concern/Wayne Hoffman, Idaho Freedom Foundation
More Info: Christopher Pentico’s visit to Gov. Butch Otter’s office on April 2, 2008, netted him a trespass conviction and the possibility of six months in jail with a $1,000 fine. The 42-year-old from Mountain Home will be sentenced on Monday. Pentico is not dangerous, but his tenacity got under the skin of state officials, making them appear arrogant and tyrannical as they sought to prevent his re-entry into public office buildings. “It was so unbelievable. I couldn’t believe this could happen,” Pentico, who tutors veterans for a living, said recently. “It seemed like a fundamental breach of trust between a person and his representation.”
Question: Was Pentico trespassing in a public place?
This undated file photo provided by the U.S. Postal Service shows the five 44-cent postage stamps featuring The Simpsons portraying from left, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. The price of a first-class stamp will climb to 44-cents, though folks who planned ahead and stocked up on Forever stamps will still be paying the lower rate. (AP Photo/USPS, File) Question: Does the USPO use of the lovable Simpson characters to introduce its lates rate hike make the increase more pallatable for you?
Butch Otter emerges from the worst session of the Idaho Legislature in decades still governor, but not leader of his party. Most of his fellow Republicans brushed him off like so much dandruff on their lapels, and it’s hard to see him exercising much power again in the near future. Otter’s failure to wring even a face-saving pittance of the gas tax increase he made his first legislative priority stems partly from his own clumsiness. He staked his status on an initiative he should have known he was destined to lose in a House driven by right-wing, anti-tax ideologues. And by the time he resorted to the one big stick any chief executive has, the veto stamp, he was losing people who had stood by him earlier/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Will Butch Otter be a one-term governor?
Update: Murder suspect Juan C. Aldana Villanueva, 22, Post Falls, will make a first appearance in court today @ 1 p.m. Meghann Cuniff/SR will cover the appearance.
Friends and members of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe are remembering the 21-year-old victim of Saturday’s fatal shooting fondly, describing him as a caring young man who was devoted to his family and love his infant daughter. Tim Wolfe was fatally shot in the head as he left a Coeur d’Alene bar early Saturday morning. Childhood friend Robert Gum had this to say about Wolfe. “All I can say about Tim is I grew up with the guy since we was children we were inseparable up until high school. Tim was full of life always tried making a room full of people smile, he wouldn’t hurt anybody ever, and he was a joker a great friend a true friend. We used to play basketball tourneys together, and he was just way to talented to go so soon”/KHQ. More here.
Update: Coeur d’Alene Press is now blocking access to the thread in question from the link below. (H/T: Dennis)
The Press moderator for the murder articles that ocurred over the weekend seems to have lost his patience. After making little effort to reign things in by 1) deleting all posts in the morning (not just the offending ones but the others as well because he didn’t have the time to “nitpick”); 2) he then ignored a racial slur at 7:41 am with his 8:29 am post and the slur still appears this morning; and 3) the Moderator left the following post last night: Moderator wrote on May 10, 2009 7:52 PM: ” Screw all of you .” You can follow the rest of the Moderator’s attempt to rein in the hate mongers re: the weekend murder story here.
Question: Did the Coeur d’Alene Press moderator do the right thing by killing the entire thread under the story re: the downtown Coeur d’Alene murder early Saturday morning?
To the owner of Gateway Café: Christina really deserves a raise, or at least a big hug and some dark chocolate. The poor girl found herself in the undesirable position of running the entire front of the house solo on a busy Sunday, but she held it together with a stoic smile superglued to her face. She had us a little worried at first, as we hovered in the entry way for a few long minutes waiting in vain for guidance. A customer finally said we could just sit wherever and the waitress would eventually find us. We shimmied into the only booth left open, located directly next to the restrooms/Patrick Jacobs, SR Handle Extra. More here.
Question: Who’s the best waiter/waitress in the region?
Terri Porcarelli, a Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer, works with a patient on Wednesday. She has started a new business, Inside View Health Screening. Story here. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
In the weekend poll, 86% (63 of 73) of the respondents to the weekend poll awarded the 2009 Idaho Legislature D’s (26%) and F’s (48%) for its performance (or lack thereof). Which parallels the Idaho Statesman poll in which 74% of the respondents gave the Legislature D’s and F’s. Only 4 of 73 voters (5%) on Huckleberries Online gave the Legislature A’s or B’s (which goes to show that North Idaho legislators vote in Huckleberries Online polls).
CindyH: Sam came home from school yesterday and presented me with a card. In
addition to the 
gorgeous artwork, he wrote in painstaking nine-year-old
penmanship: “Dear Mother, You are kind and loving. The unique
thing about you is you’re more beautiful than any mom in the world.
Your spaghetti is better than any other pasta. You have been there for
me always. You led me through these good years, and the times when I
was scared, and you held me close and calmed me. Thanks for being my
mom. So here’s to you Mom— a woman of many talents, a pretty, loving, honest, awesome, happy, caring, cool, super and radical mom. Happy Mother’s Day, Sam.” My heart is full.
Question: Any of you other moms have an especially nice Mother’s Day Sunday? Please describe it.
OrangeTV: Before HBO we sort of went around in an uninformed haze and I can’t
imagine what we did without it. Us HBO’ers get to feel like the cool
kids, the know-it-alls, like we have an edge over everyone else when
there’s breaking news and I’ve come to really love that. Even my mom, who is totally not internet savvy, asks me all the time
what the latest news is on HBO and I fill her in with all the goss
because you can’t get most of it anywhere else. Cheers to HBO!
DFO: I’m not printing this to blow my own horn (although I appreciate OTV’s comments). His comment re: his mother is the part that especially caught my eye. Do me a favor. If you like the Scanner Traffic and breaking news you get here, please tell your friends, family, and co-workers about this site. Huckleberries is clicking on all cylinders again. But there’s always room for another Merry Huckster or two at this Web site.
Councilman MikeK: I had the opportunity to see the detectives in the CdA Police
Department last night at around 8:00 pm. They had been there since 2 am
working at breakneck pace on this 
capital murder case. They were
amazingly composed despite the fact that you could tell they were
exhausted. Sgt. Christie Wood was there and shared with me that she had
awakened television reporters in the early morning hours to get their
assistance in letting the public know when the alleged perp was still
at large. Print reporters were on the job and updating website
information as events broke, and definitely HBO had all the details and
updates and was truly helping break the story. The mistake on Rancho
Viejo vs. Toro Viejo was just that, an honest mistake, and it was corrected fast.
DFO: Don’t you wished every police agency was as quick and responsive as CPD Blue when news is breaking. We’re pretty fortunate to have a sheriff and police chiefs in this county who know the importance of getting the news to the public. May their kind increase.
Bent: Hey, I think I just saw “ME” on the freeway going from Cd’A to the
HWY 41 exit in Post Falls. She had her top down, and a black visor
holding that blonde hair from flapping in the wind… I got a
(non-identifying) cell phone pic for DFO if he wants it! My wife just shook her head and said: “what if it’s not her, she’s
going to call you in for stalking …” I suppose that’s just risk a
blogger has to take sometimes ;-)
ME: I actually tried to find Stickman’s house today - but I guess I
don’t know where it is. I wanted to get a stick for walking
this summer … Stickman - I guess I need more instructions on how to find you. Bent you saw me coming back to Post Falls after trying to find Stickman.
DFO: “I got a (non-identifying) cell phone pic for DFO if he wants it! — Bent.” Of course.
Question: Have you ever owned a convertible?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
Huckleberries gives a big Hat Tip to Police Chief Wayne Longo and police spokeswoman Christie Wood for their superb work in providing ongoing information about the tragic murder of a college student in downtown Coeur d’Alene Saturday morning. At a time when many law agencies withhold information, CPD Blue provided news re: important breaks in the case, including an account of the murder and a good description of the murder suspect and the car he was in. Then, there was an update that the suspect had been captured, followed by the release of his name and photo (which I’ve posted below), and finally the name of the victim. This, while CPD Blue performed swiftly and well in capturing the suspect. Yeah, there was one glitch — misidentification of the suspect’s place of work. But it was quickly corrected. As I write this at 12:20 a.m., the daily papers are about to reach your door steps with a report of the story you’ve known for 12 to 16 hours. Welcome to the brave new cyber world of journalism. Now, for your Sunday Wild Card …
An apparent barroom altercation turned deadly early Saturday morning in Coeur d’Alene. Timothy I. Williams, who went by the name Timothy Wolfe, of Worley, Idaho, was shot in the head about 2:15 a.m. Saturday as he and a group friends were walking near Third Street and Indiana in downtown Coeur d’Alene. Wolfe, 21, a member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, was taken to Kootenai Medical Center, where he later was declared clinically dead. Juan C. Aldana Villanueva, 22, of Post Falls, was arrested later Saturday on charges of first-degree murder. “The whole Coeur d’Alene Tribe is mourning (Wolfe’s) loss,” said Chairman Chief Allan. “He was a great young man. He had a lot of potential. A great smile, a great personality. He was loved by everybody”/SR. More here.
Update No. 2: Timothy I. Wolfe, 21, of Worley, has been identified as the murder victim in this morning’s downtown Coeur d’Alene shooting. Wolfe (whose legal surname is Williams) had been attending college at Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, Mont.
Update: Police arrest murder suspect at Post Falls work place
The Coeur d’Alene Police Department is investigating a homicide that occurred at 2:17 a.m. today 
in the vicinity of 3rd and Indiana. The victim is a 21 year old male from the Coeur d’Alene area. He attends college out of the area and had returned home on Friday. Witnesses stated the victim and his friends were at a local bar, Mik n Maks, and the victim had a verbal altercation with the male suspect. The suspect was asked to leave the bar by the management. A few hours later at closing time the victim and his friends were walking in the area of 3rd and Indiana. The suspect pulled up to them in his vehicle and fired one shot from a handgun striking the victim in the head. The suspect immediately fled the area. The victim was transported to KMC and was later pronounced clinically dead. His name will not be released due to pending notification of his family. Complete Coeur d’Alene police news release and description of suspect below.
Detectives were able to learn the name of the registered owner of the vehicle, and through further investigation learned where the suspect worked. The Post Falls Police Swat team assisted Coeur d’Alene Police with the apprehension of Juan C. Aldana Villanueva, 22, Post Falls. Villanueva (pictured) was arrested at his place of employment Rancho Viejo at 2526 E. Seltice Way in Post Falls. The Swat team assisted due to the suspect possibly being armed and dangerous. There were no patrons in the business. There were approximately 4 employees inside the restaurant at the time. They claimed to not know where Villanueva was in the building. Swat members cleared every room and found Villanueva locked inside of a restroom. Officers ordered him to come out and he complied. Villanueva was arrested for 1st degree murder and taken into custody/Sgt. Christie Wood, Coeur d’Alene Police Department. Full news release below. And: Original release on murder story here.
We’re facing a busy weekend today and tomorrow. John Chamness & Co. have a bunch of activities planned to show of the Kroc Center this weekend. You can find a link to the list at JimmyMAC’s post below. Also, Mother’s Day occurs Sunday. My 3 siblings and I plan to take our 83-year-old mother out to a Mexican food eatery in Spirit Lake to celebrate her special day. Other than that, I have no plans except to garden and enjoy the sunshine. I spend so much time inside feeding this blog beast that I relish time outdoors. Behave yourselves. Mebbe I’ll see you at the Kroc Center. Now, for your Wild Card …
More than 2,400
students received a diploma case and a handshake from President Elson S. Floyd
in graduation ceremonies at Washington State University Pullman on Saturday, but
graduate Erica Mettler received one thing more—a marriage
proposal. The proposal came on the floor of
Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum during the first of three graduation ceremonies
on the Pullman campus. Just after Mettler walked across the graduation stage and
was returning to her seat, Devon Schefano, dressed in his U.S. Marine uniform,
met her in the center aisle, knelt on one knee, took her hand in his, and asked
the eternal question: Will you marry me?Even as the graduation ceremony
continued, with more students crossing the stage to the cheers of family and
friends, many in the audience took note of the unfolding
drama. “Look! He’s proposing!” someone
yelled. A moment later a speechless Mettler nodded her assent and Schefano
slipped the ring on her finger. As the two embraced, more cheers erupted across
the coliseum/WSU News Release. More here.
Question: Did you/he get down on a knee to propose?
On Friday, Mayor Dan Snarr declares American Idol “David Archuleta Day” at David’s high school, in Murray, Utah. His wife hates his 12-inch handlebar mustache, and Mayor Snarr says he has little choice but to it: He’s putting the decision to voters and “getting creamed.”(AP Photo/Kenny Crookston, File)
Question: Are you a mustache fan?
It seems more and more, we are using a new definition of tolerance.
Whereas the old statement 
of tolerance was, “I disagree with you, but I
respect your right to voice your opinion,” the new statement of
tolerance is, “All viewpoints are equally valid, and all beliefs are
equally true.” There are at least two problems with this new definition. One is that
it is much less noble. If everybody is right, and you agree with them
all, then what is admirable about accepting their views? There is
nothing special about tolerating opinions with which you agree — who
wouldn’t? More than that, it allows real intolerance to arise, because
anybody who doesn’t agree with the new definition of tolerance can be
silenced on the charge of intolerance/Benjamin Ledford, UI Argonaut. More here.
Question: What is your definition of tolerance?
Eagle Keeper: I’ll use this wild card to throw out a warning to all you Hucksters. Identity theft is a very fast growing threat to all of us. When you use your debit/credit cards to pay for services/items, check the card number listed on the receipt. The receipt should NOT have the complete card number but only the last four digits. Some small business have not upgrade their software to show the last four digits only. This situation is a thief’s delight…. :( I had this happen this morning at Down-the-Street Restaurant in Post Falls. Be warned.
Question: How concerned are you about identity theft?
Local law enforcement and medical officials say
the number of drinking-related injuries and offenses have held steady
over the years, but the two unexpected deaths over the past few weeks
have thrown student drinking into the spotlight. UI
student Daniel Miller, 23, was found unconscious by his roommates early
in the morning of April 25, and authorities said his death resulted
from apparent alcohol poisoning. Just
one week later, WSU student Stuart John Robertson, 21, apparently fell
to his death off a 40-foot cliff about one-quarter mile east of Bishop
Boulevard in Pullman. Pullman
police believe alcohol may have been a factor in Roberston’s death as
well, but won’t know until they receive a toxicology report/Halley Griffin, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here.
Question: When did you give up partying and settle down?
This year, lawmakers met their constitutional requirement to balance
the books, but utterly failed to show leadership on the state’s
transportation problems. They have ducked all the tough 
decisions on
road repairs and how to pay for them — leaving them to task forces, and
perhaps to some future session. (Click here for today’s editorial.) Which, of course, they could. Lawmakers weren’t obligated to do
anything on the road-repair issue — and for some, leaving town without
a gas tax increase represents a victory. But it also represents ongoing
delay, pushing back road repairs and driving up the cost to all
taxpayers. This issue didn’t sneak up on anyone. It has topped Gov. Butch
Otter’s agenda for two years. To talk around the fringes of the issue
for 17 weeks, and leave town no closer to consensus or a long-term
plan, isn’t acceptable/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: What grade would you give the 2009 Legislature?
JimmyMAC: Just got back from the opening of the Kroc Center. Tonight’s opening
was for 
donors. The Coeur Group, of which I am a member, served as tour
guides and ushers for tonight’s festivities. All I have to say is that
we are blessed beyond belief with this community center. It will serve
such a wonderful purpose for everyone. I sincerely and wholeheartedly
urge any of the critics to go visit it with an open mind and heart
because the energy and feeling you get that lives will be touched is overwhelming.
Question: When did you last hear someone criticize the Kroc Center?
Frum Helen Back: Grandson Drew, now 11, sat down next to me and told me that he is sure
he needs to start shaving. By George, I could see a bit of fuzz above
his upper lip. “You’re becoming 
a man!” I told him. Then he asked me if
I would take him shopping for some men’s deodorant and men’s shampoo.
“Of course I will!” I said. He then told me that he got a small
container of Old Spice deodorant at school but he knows he’ll go
through it really fast. Then it dawned on me what this was all about.
“You watched your sex movie at school today, didn’t you?” I asked. He
reminded me that he saw the movie about boys and puberty this year.
Next years he sees the movie about girls and then in seventh grade it’s
about sex. So tonight, after Hil’s game, we’ll be going to WalMart to
buy some men stuff, including an electric razor.
Question: When did you start shaving?
Scott Stantis/Birmingham News
On this day in history: In 1794, Antoine Lavoisier, the father of modern chemistry, was executed on the guillotine during France’s Reign of Terror. In 1970, the album “Let It Be” was released by the Beatles. In 1978, David Berkowitz pleaded guilty in Brooklyn to the “Son of Sam” killings. In 1884, Harry Truman was born. Today is Military Spouse Appreciation Day. In the news: The official who okayed the Air Force One jet flyover that terrified New York has resigned here. And the TGIF Wild Card is in play …
It’s difficult to think about my mother this Mother’s Day. Mom passed away three years ago, on 
May 11, the day before what would have been my Dad’s birthday. So every Mother’s Day, I am reminded of her. It’s not that I enjoy my memories – it’s more like I am torn between the good things and the bad things. Are all mother-daughter relationships so complex? I wonder. My mother could be doting one minute and condescending the next, degenerating on down to being spiteful and hateful. While I can write reams of funny and loving anecdotes about my Dad – Mom is just the opposite. Why is that? I want to know. My heart weeps for what has gone by, for what has been lost, for what was never mended/JeanieS, Nuts & Nonsense. More here.
Question: Why are mother-daughter relationships so complicated?
A 68-year-old North Idaho man was killed in an auto-pedestrian accident this afternoon at Spokane County Raceway. The accident happened about 1:30 p.m. on the track’s road course, where the man, a contractor, was talking with the park’s General Manager Jay Livingston off the track. A 46-year-old military retiree driving an Infinity G30 apparently lost control coming out of a curve and struck at least one of them/Mike Prager, SR. More here. And: KREM2 video.
Spokane Fire Department crews attend to an injured motorcyclist on east-bound I-90 after an accident involving a pickup in Spokane. The cyclist crashed his bike into the slow-moving truck and suffer a severe ankle injury according to WSP TRooper Joe Liebrecht. Story here. (Dan Pelle/Spokesman-Review)
Since the first APhoto of the Day didn’t attract any interest, I’ll try again with this one: A hippopotamus looks on in a pool of water on a hot summer day in Mumbai, India, Friday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Gautam Singh)
Cutlines:
Update (from 5:30 p.m. Thursday): A 4YO Athol area boy is in Sacred Heart Hospital after being run over by a large rototiller, pulled behind a tractor, driven by his father. The father apparently didn’t see what happened. He found his son after he felt a bump. The boy was unresponsive at first but spoke a few words later. He wasn’t mangled badly. He was taken to KMC by ambulance and then transferred to the Spokane hospital.
Hey, if vampires can play baseball (“Twilight”), why can’t slugs play tennis. Marianne Love/Slight Detour has posted a number of “Farm Fresh Photos” on her site here.
Coeur d’Alene police are seeking information about a 4- to 5-year-old girl who may have been fondled by a registered sex offender. A witness, who said she used to live with the sex offender, said she saw the girl on the man’s lap when she approached his van, parked across from her home in the 800 block of Marie Avenue, at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Then, she said she heard a voioce yelling “Donna,” “Dana,” or something similar with a “D.” At that point, the girl ran off running west on Marie Avenue, and the sex offender drove off after being warned by his former girlfriend. Who called the police later. The girl is described as having shoulder-length, brown, wavy hair. She was wearing a pink shirt and had a pink hair tie. Sgt. Christie Wood’s news release here.
“
I just have had one helluva case of the blues for what seems like forever now… no particular reason why- I mean, you’d think everything’d be just ducky, ya know? But it’s even gotten to the point where I’m considering counseling, medication, or maybe both. Dunno yet. I still have the support of a great church and my family, but part of this depression deal makes me withdraw even more from everyone who seems oh-so-willing to help. Guess that’s the bad part of being off dope for a few years: you actually have to FEEL stuff! Anyway, I’ve decided to make a conscious effort to start maintaining Soul Doubt again, using that as an outlet for all this junk in my head, and checking in here again. I swear, my computer keyboard has even gotten dusty! Yes, dusty!”/Kendramama. Full post under Wild Card here.
Jon Heder, left, and Efren Ramirez are seen in this undated promotional movie still from the film “Napoleon Dynamite.” Last winter’s independent-film showcase has produced a string of successes, among them “Napoleon Dynamite,” “Open Water,” “Garden State” and “Super Size Me.” (AP Photo/Fox Searchlight, Aaron Ruell)
Question: Which is your favorite film on Times-News columnist Steve Crump’s list?
Digger: So I slept in this morning and rushed out of the house after my shower and forgot my Blackberry. Now, I’ve never considered myself to be addicted to my “crackberry” but the more I go through the day realizing that “I need to check my schedule” or “whats that phone number” that its all on my BlackBerry. Full post below.
Question: How connected are you with your cell phone? Do you feel lost without it?
A man reportedly in his 50s killed himself by jumping from the Veterans Memorial Bridge on Interstate 90, east of Coeur d’Alene this afternoon. Witnesses contacted police after seeing the man jump about 12:20 p.m. Reportedly, the man left his Chevrolet on the bridge. One witness stayed by the car while a friend visited the area below, discovering the man’s body 300 feet below on Sunnyside Road, near Lake Coeur d’Alene Drive. Coeur d’Alene police have closed the roadway at Sunnyside Road and Mullan Trail Drive. Kootenai County sheriff’s report here.
The Idaho Senate has adjourned sine die, Latin for “without a day,” meaning they’ve ended their work for the legislative session. Lt. Gov. Brad Little banged a rubber mallet on a foot-long wooden handle that serves as his Senate gavel, to close the session. “Very, very hard decisions had to be made,” Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, told the Senate shortly before the gavel fell. “This body has demonstrated year in and year out a desire to do what is in the long-term interest of this state, and for that I am grateful”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Is there anything else to say but ‘good riddance’?
Greg Metz, right, caretaker of the Yellow Pine Bar property near the Salmon River in central Idaho’s Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, looks on recently as caretaker Sue Anderson pours a cup of coffee for pilot Ray Arnold, center, after Arnold delivered mail to the couple in his airplane. On Thursday, the U.S. Postal Service said it had renewed Arnold’s contract for mail delivery for another year, backing off its plan to sever its contract for the only flying backcountry air mail route remaining in the lower 48 states. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Steve Sibulsky: What’s with the flaggers at every stoplight on US 95, just standing around all day? The work’s done at night! What a boring job…probably pays well, tho!
Question: We’re always saying that flaggers have a cush job — high pay for relatively little work. But seriously would you want to be paid just to stand around all day, especially at job sites with little traffic?
The jury in the federal asbestos trial has found W.R. Grace not guilty on all counts, according to University of Montana journalism and law students who are blogging from the courtroom. It was a unanimous decision. More here. Missoulian story here.
Question: Are you surprised by the verdict?
CPD Blue Report: 
“Due to children being present, officers suggested they all go downstairs to her apartment and leave the RP’s apartment. The female was unsteady as she walked to the door. One of the officers attempted to open the door handle for her and she struck his hands. Officers escorted her outside and she turned and swung at one of them. The officer deflected her punch and both officers took her to the ground to control her movement. The female sustained a facial injury to her left eye area during the take-down. She was treated a Kootenai Medical Center for her injuries. Charges will be forwarded to the Prosecutor’s office for two counts of battery on a police officer”/Sgt. Christie Wood, Coeur d’Alene Police Department. More here.
The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center kicks off a weekend of “firsts” beginning tonight, celebrating its grand opening with a lineup of full-scale bravo and special activities. … Local donors and dignitaries will get first crack at sneaking a peek of the $38 million marvel at 6:30 this evening during a Red Carpet tour — which includes hors d’oeuvres and a concert — but the public can catch a glimpse of the facility at 2 p.m. Saturday during the dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting/Tom Hasslinger, CdA Press. And: More here. Kroc Center news release here.
Question: Anyone out there who still questions the involvement by Mayor Sandi Bloem, LCDC & other civic leaders in making the Kroc Center happen? Spencer?
US singer and actress Miley Cyrus, right, seen with her father US musician Billy Ray Cyrus, as they address the crowd, on their arrival for the British Premiere of the film ‘ Hannah Montana’, at a Leicester Square cinema, in London April 23. Barack and Miley moved up, but the classics still rule. Emma is the top baby name for girls, Jacob for boys. Miley, as in popular teen singer Miley Cyrus, moved up 152 spots to No. 127. But her stage name, Hannah _ as in Hannah Montana _ fell from No. 9 to No. 17. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, FILE)
Question: Do you like the name your parents gave you?
Molly at Horizon
was awesome but the whole terrorism mess means that you have to show
proof of ID to open an account. So when I whipped out my driver’s
license, Molly looks at me and says, “You know this is expired, right?” WRONG!
I did NOT know it was expired and when I looked at her and said
something lame like, “are you sure? ‘Cause that would have been back in
October,” she looked right back and said, “Yes, October. Of 2007.” Boy, feeling stupid is never fun but it’s even worse when you feel that way in public. By
the time I was done at Horizon it was too late to get my driver’s
license renewed so I did it on my next trip into Sandpoint, which was
to be a pit stop on the way to Spokane to pick up the new issue of the
River Journal. That’s when I discovered that, when you’re over a year
expired, it’s just like you have no license at all and you must re-do
everything - eye test, written test and skills exam/Trish Gannon, River Journal. More here.
Question: Without looking, do you know when your driver’s license expires? And/or: Do you think you could pass a driver’s written test without reading the manual before hand?
Item: Testing finds lead in children: Material detected in 6 percent; levels are high for two kids/Mike Prager, SR
More Info: The first widespread testing for lead exposure among Spokane children found that 6 percent of those tested had ingested measurable amounts of toxic lead. Workers found that 32 children among 500 tested had lead in their blood, but only two of them had levels high enough to be of concern under federal health standards. The results in Spokane are consistent with previous tests in Washington state that found fewer than 1 percent of children have lead levels at or above the federal standard for concern of 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood.
Question: Would you recommend that individuals who live in older homes get their children tested — just to be safe? Or is this simply another instance of a potential public health problem that affects too few to worry about?
As spring continues to thaw out, insects can be seen coming coming out of their lethargy and sluggishly moving around like this bee found on a window in the Student Union Building. Jake Barber/Argonaut
In the HBO Poll Thursday, a plurality of 47% (50 of 107) believes the biggest loser in the never-ending 2009 Idaho Legislature session is House Education Chairman Bob Nonini, R-Post Falls, followed by Gov. Butch Otter @ 31% (33 of 107). In a distant third is House Speaker Lawerence Denney @ 8% (9 of 107). “Other” is the pick of 12% (13 of 107).
Toadman: As for lengthy posts, I’m a violator of this as well (as this very post
exemplifies). Why am I wordy? I dunno. Still, I also tweet…though I
don’t do opinion tweeting. This morning I tweeted the entire storyline
of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” in under 140 characters…so you
see, I do have the ability to be concise…but here, I can’t seem to stop
blathering on about nothing….SOMEONE STOP ME PLEASE!
Toad’s “Pride and Prejudice” tweet: “Pride and Prejudice: Darcey bastard. Love him. Darcey lie. Love him more. Darcey hero. Hate him. Darcey has huge house. Love him…duh.”
Question: Can you Tweet your favorite book in 100 words or less?
Cis: Red Lobster in CDA … a bug the size of my thumb nail crawled out of the
salad….. I got ahold of the gal and she said. oh.. that was it … she
asked if she could get me something else. I told her no, as it took me
10 minutes to get ahold of her, and my husband had finished over half
of his meal … and by that time, I had lost my appetite. She brought the
bill, and said, oh, I didn’t charge for your meal … well, duh …. I didn’t
get to eat it.
Question: Do you hesitate to send your meal — or part of your meal — back, if there’s something wrong with it (i.e., too cold, meat isn’t cook to your instructions, etc.)? Or do you grin and eat it?
Thomas Paine: I too was the subject of much mockery and ridicule. Jr. High and High
School were the worst, but grade school sucked too. Worst time of my
life. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Like Toadman I kept my own
list, although only in my head. Fortunately I was too much the coward
to do anything about it. Today I have great sympathy for anyone who is
different or “unique”.
Question: What clique did you belong to in high school (i.e., jocks, nerds, cheerleaders, brainiacs, etc.)? Were you part of the in crowd or were you on the outside looking in?
Dennis: Have you ever found something odd in the food served to you at a restaurant? Depends on your definition of odd. Marrying in to a culture other
than American, I have to say that the first year together was
interesting to say the least!!! Live foods, foods that prior to my
marrage would have been considered bait or animal chow, and other fare
that would cause most red blooded country folk to turn green are normal
meals in our household. I will say that bugs are not and have never
been on the menu.
Question: What is the strangest thing that you’ve ever eaten?
Michael Ramirez/Investor’s Business Daily
At this moment, the police scanner is reporting a semi that’s on its side (trailer flipped on completely over) at Huetter and Seltice Way, blocking Huetter. No one was injured. But a good amount of fluid (of some kind) has leaked onto the roadway. On this day in history: In 1429, The English siege of Orleans was broken by Joan of Arc. In 1940, Winston Churchill became British Prime Minister. In 1945, Germany signed unconditional surrender ending World War II. It would take effect the next day. In 1919, Eva Peron was born. We’re in the middle of National Nurse Week. In the news this evening, . And the latest Wild Card is in play …
A couple of bordered plant bugs are shown on a leaf at Stewart Park in Roseburg, Ore., on Wednesday. (AP Photo/The News-Review, Robin Loznak)
Truly: I have to blow my horn for a second: my daughter in law, Michelle, will be graduating on Saturday from the UW and then on to her Maters in the fall and all the while being pregnant for the first time. She has worked soooooo hard and is brilliant and a scholar. Bob and I are so proud. I am sure there are many of you who will be celebrating various graduations in the next days to come so tell us about them and quit bickering over the small stuff.
Question: Anyone graduating in your family? Go ahead and brag.
U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, shown with his wife Vicki, led Team Risch to victory in the Celebrity Chef contest for the March of Dimes Gourtmet Gala. Story here. Idaho Potato Lollipops with Sauces recipe here.
From left: Shinaku, Aksala and P.D. check out the scene on Stedman Street in Ketchikan, Alaska, on Monday from a window of the Bayside Hotel building. The dogs’ owner, Steve Mata, has been equipping his dogs with sunglasses for several years and they are the subject of much attention and many photos taken by cruise ship passengers and other visitors to the busy port town. (AP photo/Ketchikan Daily News, Tom Miller)
Top Cutline:
Once May Day comes, look out. Try to smell the roses, even if they haven’t arrived by May Day cuz if you blink, you’re liable to miss some good memories and then a long winter will come and the great moments you will want to remember of the past spring will seem so distant and so far off. That’s how it is in May. As the calendar changes, so do the smorgasboard offerings of “things to do.” And, in most cases, they’re all pretty tasty treats. Decision-making is much more difficult, but one must not linger too long in filling one’s plate, cuz the day’s offerings will go by fast enough/Marianne Love, Slight Detour. More here.
Question: Which month is your favorite?
In this 1986 photo, posted by OrangeTV/Remember The Roxy, you see the last stoplight in Wallace — and, if memory serves me correctly, the last on Interstate 90 between Seattle and Boston (h/t: Factchecker). Late mining magnate Harry Magnuson fought valiantly for years to prevent the interstate from bypassing Wallace, as it does now. Ultimately, he lost the battle with progress, and this light came down. More Remember The Roxy vintage photos here.
Question: Which survived longest in Wallace — the stoplight of the houses of prostitution?
You just ride along, the days go by as you endlessly ride up and down through a maze of strange distorted faces of people you don’t want to know, but must interact with. The ride operator’s grizzled beard and his whiskey breath, permeating your micro atmosphere even here, where you are, mentioning an unease to your mind that there might be something amiss with the ride itself, a loose bolt here, a rusted nut there. All is not as it looks on the outside/Toadman, Synaptic Disunion. More here.
HBO Numbers (for Wednesday, May 6): 6739/3914
The Senate has voted 28-5 in favor of HB 334, the bill to raise DMV administrative fees, for things like title certificates and driver’s licenses, by $13.1 million a year. Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, said he was unhappy that the fees “will be imposed for the most part on Idahoans and not spread to visitors,” unlike gas taxes. But Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls, said, “Any time that we offer services in government, the cost of that service should be paid for by the user of that service/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Do you agree with Sen. Jim Hammond that we should pay higher driver’s licenses fees to offset the service that we’re getting?
And Forbes magazine, apparently unimpressed with the official “Near nature, near perfect” city slogan in Spokane, today pronounced the Lilac City the “Scam Capital of America.” From writer William Barrett’s story: Welcome to Spokane, Wash., a metropolitan object lesson in what can befall the unwary when rugged individualism is revered and consumers unsuspecting. The story paints the city as a sort of freewheeling frontier town. And I suspect it has city leaders doubling up on their blood-pressure medication this morning/Rich Roesler, Eye On Olympia.
Question: OK, those of us who live on the North Idaho side of the state line know that our communities are nicer than Spokane. But … “Scam Capital of America”? C’mon. What do you think Spokane should be known for?
Beckie Williams, co-founder of Busts 4 Justice, poses with a bra outside a branch of Marks & Spencer in Brighton, England, today. The women group campaigning to challenge Marks & Spencer’s policy of charging more for large-sized brassieres, a 2 pound (US$3) surcharge for bra sizes that are DD or larger, say they plan to confront executives at the group’s annual meeting this summer. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
Question: Does Busts For Justice have a legitimate gripe?
Designer I Hair Fashions (e-mail to OrangeTV): “Most of you might not know that Jamie A. 
Neverdahl, who was killed in an automobile accident on April 29, was the husband of one of my staff members. He leaves at home 2 young daughters and his wife Michelle. As many of us can only imagine, this has been a very difficult time for Michelle and her family. On May 16th, Designer I Hair Fashions is holding a fund raiser, all proceeds will go directly to Michelle. We will hold a “parking lot” sale from 9a. til 4p. on May 16, rain or shine. If any of you would be willing to donate items to the “parking lot” sale, please drop those items off at the salon by May 14th, or call me, 773-6504 and I will gladly pick up your donation. Full e-mail below.
From newsroom buddy Meghann Cuniff (right, in photo below w/Sam & Lovely Kate): North Idaho had not one but TWO mentions on the fine television show “Most Daring: Senior 
Smackdowns” on the cable channel Tru TV yesterday. I was in the waiting room at the downtown Spokane Les Schwab when dash cam footage from Post Falls came on the TV screen. An elderly man had been pulled over for speeding (he said he was going 45; officer clocked him at 52) and lit into the officer with a mouthful of profanity that’s impossible to capture here. He screamed that he just wanted to go to the store and got out of the vehicle at one point, only to be ordered back inside. Remarkably, the officer let him go with a warning. The VERY NEXT clip was a police chase in Coeur d’Alene involving three cop cars and a 75-year-old driver. An officer can be heard yelling “Stop your vehicle! Stop your vehicle before you kill somebody!” (More of the story below)
And one reader was brave enough to share the other side of the story. Liz from Coeur d’Alene said she was a Ruthie. “I probably didn’t look that odd but I was, shall we say, ‘unique.’ ” A difficult family situation contributed to her struggles, and Liz didn’t handle being picked on very well. “Whatever I did egged them on,” she said. Even her father’s fatal illness prompted cruelty. “One kid actually asked me if I was so weird because my father was in the hospital dying of cancer. Which was especially unpleasant as no one felt it would be appropriate to inform me of this piece of information. I went home and pried it out of my very reluctant mother after this incident”/Cindy Hval, SR Voices. More here.
Question: Were you ever picked on by school mates as a child? What was that experience like?
An elderly Spokane Valley couple’s battle to have a woman evicted from their garage is apparently over. An eviction order was signed by a judge last week and sheriff’s deputies posted a notice on the door of the garage Wednesday, ordering Susan Pierce off the premises at the North McCabe Road home of Don (pictured) and Peggy Bain. Shawn Vestal’s story here. (Dan Pelle photo).
Attitudes around Rathdrum City Hall improved last week as most city staffers underwent a daylong training program entitled, “Communication and Customer Service in the Public Sector.” “As a city,” Mayor Vic Holmes said after the session, “service is just about all we have to sell. So, let’s make it the very best we can.” The session stemmed from “a couple of problems, nothing serious,” but a couple of situations involving citizens and their dealings with city hall, the mayor said/Tom Burnett, Rathdrum Star. More here. Question: Do you think local governments in your community treat constituents well?
Jack Pendleton of Ballston Lake N.Y., poses in Ballston Lake Wednesday. Pendleton was at the restaurant Sunday when he spotted something gray mixed in with his vegetables and realized it was a snake head the size of his thumb, with part of the spine still attached. Pendleton and his girlfriend weren’t charged for their meals. (AP Photo/The Times Union, Hank Domin) Question: Have you ever found something odd in the food served to you at a restaurant?
When last-minute versions of law
Are rushed out half-cooked or still raw
Is it any wonder
There might be a blunder
And looking close turns up a flaw?
Betsy Russell/Eye On Boise
Something is ripe, overripe actually, in the House, but it’s not legislation. It is the attitude by Denney and his fellow House leaders that they are the ringmasters of the circus into which they have turned the legislative branch. They decide which issues are decided in the House, to the point that committee chairmen have to ask Majority Leader Mike Moyle whether to hold hearings on certain bills. And they decide there will be no compromise with the governor of their own party or with the Senate dominated by members of their own party/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: When all is said and done at the 2009 Idaho Legislature, will Gov. Butch Otter be stronger politically? Weaker? The same?
In this photograph taken on Saturday, Mark Bushnell holds a cigar while watching former Spokane Valley, Wash. mayor Michael DeVleming putt at Esmeralda Golf Course in Spokane, Wash. The city of Spokane recently tried to ban smoking on its four public golf courses, only to be stymied by an outcry from players and smoking rights advocates. (AP Photo/Young Kwak) Question: Do you smoke cigars? And/or: Should cigars be banned on golf courses?
Item: Cd’A ranked among top performing cities: City earns high marks in job creation, economic growth/Rick Thomas, CdA Press
More Info: The Coeur d’Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area jumped into second in the Milken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners Best Performing Cities Index for 2008, up from sixth in 2007. The index ranks U.S. metropolitan areas by how well they are creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth. The components include job, wage and salary and technology growth.
Question: Anti-growth elements in the community continue to harp that urban renewal efforts aren’t producing many quality jobs. Isn’t this ranking proof that they’re wrong — as usual?
Item: New Ed Board president Agidius supports CdA Education Corridor/Maureen Dolan, CdA Press
More Info: The newly-elected president of the Idaho State Board of Education supports the development of an education corridor in downtown Coeur d’Alene. Paul Agidius, an eight-year member of the board, said he can see the economic and educational benefits of completing the project adjacent to North Idaho College along the Spokane River. … Don Soltman, the state board’s newest member who hails from Twin Lakes, supports the plan also.
Question: Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Post Falls, was successful last year in lobbying the Ed Board to shoot down a proposed contract w/UI to lease land within the corridor for a building. With the chairman now in favor of the corridor and Nonini’s run-ins with the governor during the session, do you think The Great Nonini has the clout to hamstring the corridor further?
In this 2004 file photo, Barry Rosenberg of the Kootenai Environmental Alliance speaks at Tubbs Hill before a large crowd opposed to Kootenai County’s proposed subdivision ordianance. Rosenberg, 66, will retire May 15 after seven years as executive director of the Kootenai Environmental Alliance. More here (second item). Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review
Question: Has the Kootenai Environmental Alliance been a good enviro watchdog for Kootenai County?
In the HBO Poll Wednesday, 80 percent (61 of 76) of the respondents said the city of Coeur d’Alene did the right thing in pursuing a lawsuit against treasurer Kathy Sims and Concerned Citizens of Kootenai County re: campaign finance violations. Only 13 percent (10 of 76) disagreed. Seven percent (5 of 76) wasn’t sure.
OrangeTV: Bizarre confession: I just can’t bring myself to ahem…let nature run it’s digestive course in the woods, so I have make the occasional trip to that little store in Prichard and stand in line behind a dozen other campers who share my dilemma.
Question: Do you share OrangeTV’s dilemma?
Joker: I wish you would stop posting Mary Souza stuff on Huckleberries. It’s
like going to a four-star restaurant and mid-meal finding a long blonde
hair in your baked potato. She’s shrill. She’s annoying. She’s a broken record. I bet you could
program 10 Mary Souza responses to any question about the city and
you’d have it covered. Food for thought!
Question: We discussed this topic briefly in comments Wednesday. What do you think? Is Mary, Gookin and the rest of her small band of conspiracy theorists of any interest here any more — even for comic relief?
JeanieS: I am building my “beach box” as we write all of this. I’m headed to the
family beach home in Oregon at the end of June. A Kindle would be easy
(but expensive). But there is something about real books, heavy in your
hand. My box is pretty full - the full series of Janet Evanovich’s
Stephanie Plum books (for the third reading), inspirational books,
mysteries, Stephen King’s The Stand (to be read on the beach in
daylight), and several DVD’s for mindless enjoyment.
Question: What books would you put in your “beach box” for an end-of-June vacation?
HMOsuite: As most of the frequent posters here are aligned with the far liberal
left, most of what I post is simply objected to, mocked and ridiculed.
Or, I am attacked as being a “wing nut”, simply “spewing Hannity and
Rush”, and besides, “Bush was worse”. etc. etc. The paranoia associated
with the defense of Obama here is astounding. Any actual intelligent
discussion of an item that I may have posted is simply not in the
cards. Quite sad really.
Question: Do the commenters on this blog lean to the left or to the right. Or are they fairly balanced?
Scott Stantis/Houston Chronicle
Don’t forget to vote in today’s HBO Poll, which asks whether the city was right in pursuing a lawsuit against Kathy Sims and Concerned Taxpayers of Kootenai County over campaign finance violations here. Also, I’d like to know if you might like to stage an impromptu summer event on June 20, hosted by Taryn and Bent at Taryn’s place in Spirit Lake. (See evening post.) Now, with US stocks climb to a four-month high here and Rupert Murdoch declaring the worst is over here, I’ll re-play this Wild Card and get out of here …
A duck hen sits on a nest on an awning attached to the Sherwood Building in downtown Spokane. A year ago, the email story of Joel Armstrong, a Sterling Savings Bank employee, saving the falling ducklings from that same nest became a viral hit. With “mama duck’s” return, Sterling Savings Bank has started a program called “Bucks for Ducks”, which will run through May 29 to raise money for Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. Anyone can be entered for a chance at winning cash awards and to name one of the ducklings, for a dollar donation. You can check out the SR’s Duckcam here. (Jesse Tinsley/Spokesman-Review)
Taryn Hecker: Hi all! Mark your calendars for June 20. Bent and I are co-hosting an event at my new studio digs in Spirit Lake. He’ll be serving up some homebrew and BBQ fare and I’ll have some great deals on portraits for kids, families and pets. More details to come … I just wanted to make sure everyone saves the date. Cheers!
Bent: Yes, this should be an exciting event. I am going to brew a batch of Telepathy (European Pilsner), Faux Stella and possibly my new Apple Lager for tasting. If you think my Beer is good, you really should come try my BBQ’d pot stickers. AND … it is Father’s Day weekend! What man wouldn’t want to go for free beer and BBQ while his wife is getting sexy pictures take.
Question: What do you Merry Hucksters think? Do I sense a Huckleberries Online event in the making?
The 2009 North Idaho College retirees were honored with a reception May 6 at NIC. Pictured are NIC Trustee Christie Wood, retirees Janet Gossett and Nina Bartlett, NIC President Priscilla Bell, and retirees Kaye Wilson, Jim Cultra and Doug Fagerness. Not pictured: Robert Bohac, David Parker, Debbie Parker and John Owen. Story here. (North Idaho College photo)
This undated photo provided by the Department of Justice shows detained suspect Sony Dong, with songbirds strapped to his legs at Los Angeles International Airport. Dong was charged Tuesday with smuggling song birds into the United States by strapping more than a dozen of them to his legs and trying to walk out of the Los Angeles International Airport. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Department of Justice)
Top Cutlines:
More than 20 people showed up for the first of a number of Spirit Lake Parks & Recreation Commission cleanup days Saturday. Here, a participant tosses a bag of leaves picked up from the Spirit Lake Skate Park into a pickup bed. More here. (Ralph Bartholdt photo)
Significantly, there is a strong correlation between conservatism and freedom on the one hand 
and liberalism and bondage on the other. The states that are most free tend to be the most conservative politically: S. Dakota, Colorado, Texas, Missouri, Tennessee, Arizona, Virginia and N. Dakota join Idaho in the top ten,! while the least free states are without exception bastions of statism run wild: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Washington, Hawaii and California all have the dubious honor of being in the bottom ten. This gives the lie to the myth that conservatives are the repressive ones. The truth, as is often the case, turns out to be the exact opposite. The more liberal a state is, the less likely it is to offer its residents genuine personal and financial freedom/Bryan Fischer, Idaho Values Alliance. More here.
Question: Do you agree with the IVA conclusion that conservative states are the freest?
Pend O’Reille,
my lake of choice.
Because my early years
as well as later vacations
took place here,
this place is tightly tied
to everything I hold dear.
Sue Turner/Tumblewords
JeanieS: 10 reasons she loves camping:
CindyH: Let’s go camping!!!
Question (from CindyH): So, when you go camping today, do you use a tent? Or do you take a motor home, complete with running water and a working oven? Rent a cabin?
City beach is a little bit cleaner today after Idaho Dad’s daughter and her Girl Scout troop joined with several others to pick up trash along the shoreline. You can read more re: the beach cleanup at A Family Runs Through It here.
HBO Numbers (for Tuesday, May 5): 7070/4180
Bristol Palin, daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, center, arrives for an event to promote National Teen Pregnancy Awareness Day earlier today in New York. Unwed mother Bristol Palin said Wednesday that abstinence is a realistic way for teens to avoid unwanted pregnancy — a view not shared by the father of her infant son. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Question: Ah, do you see anything wrong with this picture?
Question: Jen/Butterfly Moment offered her first Not Me Monday this week. She explains the goal: You are supposed to write about things that you did NOT do (but you totally did) over the last week.” Now, it’s your turn. What did you NOT do (that you totally did)?
As reader Art Seamans pointed out in a letter on this page Monday, however reasonable it may 
be to charge boaters for the cost of fighting invasive species, the mechanism for collecting the fees is anything but well-thought-out. Rather than building on the existing registration system for powerboats, the law requires all boaters to make a separate sticker purchase. For in-state powerboaters, the cost is $10. For out-of-state powerboaters, it is $20. And for canoeists, rafters and other users of human-powered vessels longer than 10 feet, it is $5. Where are the stickers available? To date, only at the Parks and Recreation Department in Boise, from which they may be bought online or by mail. There are as yet no local vendors/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question (for boaters): Do you plan to buy an invasive species sticker to comply with the new law and help curtail quagga mussels?
Work has begun on the west wall of the $10M Kibbie Dome restoration project at the University of Idaho/Moscow. Story here. (Geoff Crimmins/Moscow-Pullman Daily News)
If lawmakers do as they should
And it’s all for the public good
Then some middle ground
Must be there to be found
Unless you ask Rep. JoAn Wood.
Betsy Russell/Eye On Boise
My family has a front row seat to the worst of me…. the “mean mom”, curfews and chores, yelling and grounding, saying “NO” more than I needed to. I threw Thanksgiving Dinner in the garbage one year in a fit of anger over something stupid. I still feel bad about that. They have loved me in spite of me. They still love me! That is the only Mother’s Day present I will ever need. My children and their children … scattered all over the country … . are my diamonds. Watching them live happy, successful lives are the flowers in my life. The memories are the “sweets” that are as satisfying as chocolate!/JanTri, Brand X Ranch. More here.
Question: How much do you measure your success in life by the way your kids turned out?
North Idaho College English Instructor and author of “The Gathering Place: A History of North Idaho College” Fran Bahr will host a book signing from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Hastings in Coeur d’Alene. The book was written and released as part of the college’s 75th anniversary celebration this year. It chronicles the history of the college, which was established during the challenges of the Great Depression/Stacy Hudson, NIC Press Room. More here.
Question: How important is North Idaho College to you?
President Barack Obama’s top aides have all but confirmed newspapers will receive no bailout from the government. They say it would be a conflict of interest, which is ridiculous. Will newspapers be extinct before the ignorant U.S. public realizes their importance in society?/Sydney Boyd, Argonaut. More Off The Cuff.
Question: Should the government bail out struggling newspapers?
It seems that when bats fly too close to windmills they enter an area of reduced air pressure and that causes their lungs to explode. Needless to say, that is not good for the bat. In a nation that spends billions to save all types of creatures n even toads n that does not bode well for windmills. And once again, I am not making this up. There is even a name for what happens when bats fly too close to windmills and blow up. Barotrauma. But there is good news. There is a solution. Scientists believe that if we simply turn the windmills off during low winds then bats will be safe. Alright. I get it. Everyone is wondering what we would do without scientists/Dan Hammes, St. Maries Gazette-Record. More here.
Question: What priority should the Obama administration put on the discovery and implementation of alternative forms on energy?
Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com, introduces the Kindle DX at a news conference Wednesday in New York. The Kindle DX has a larger 9.7 inch screen than its predecessor, the Kindle 2, and can be ordered for $489 for delivery this summer. Story here. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Question: How popular do you think Kindle will become?
Lindsay Lindberg had needed special help from the start. The infant was born in November with a heart defect that left her fatigued and unable to nurse. Her mother, Courtney Lindberg, had been filling a host of prescriptions at a Walgreens pharmacy in north Spokane. Medication was supposed to be a temporary solution until surgeons could patch the holes in Lindsay’s walnut-size heart that had left her weak since birth. Instead, because of a labeling mix-up, it could have been fatal. Now the mother is urging other parents to double-check the medicines they bring home from pharmacies for their children. Walgreens has apologized for the incident and says it’s spent a billion dollars to prevent similar problems/John Stucke, SR. More here.
Question: How closely do you check to double check that you’ve been provided the right drugs by your pharmacy?
Mary Souza and her conspiracy theorists @ Not-So-OpenCDA.com believe they have a gotcha 
moment in one of my posts from yesterday — the one in which I reproduced Kathy Sims’ 2007 attack ad against 3 CdA council incumbents. In defense of Sims and Tom Macy — and their inability to file proper campaign finance forms — Mary added this footnote to make an obvious point re: the photo of the campaign ad that she swiped from my Web site without permission: This was taken from the “other” website, so it implies that former city councilwoman Dixie Reid, whose name and address are on the scan, probably gave it to the web author.” Of course Dixie gave the flyer to me. She didn’t care that people knew that when I first published the ad back in November 2007. She wouldn’t care now. Dixie isn’t afraid of Mary and her gang. You can read Mary’s entire spiel, under the headline “City of Vengeance” in context here.
Question: Do you think the city’s action against Kathy Sims, Tom Macy, and Concerned Taxpayers of Kootenai County will have a chilling effect on individuals considering last-minute campaign shenanigans in the future?
Going on location recently for a behind-the-scenes tour of the dam operation in Post Falls included a visit 50 ft. below the river to the powerhouse. Avista operators utilize much of the same equipment and technology that existed when the dam was built in 1906. This sign is surely a remnant of those early beginnings/Councilwoman KerriT, OnLocation North Idaho.
In the Tuesday HBO Poll, 55% (55 of 99 respondents) gave Hazel Bauman A’s or B’s for her job performance over her first 10 months as Coeur d’Alene School District superintendent — 35 A’s and 20 B’s. On the other end of the spectrum, 28 awarded her D’s (17) or F’s (11). Sixteen were in the middle, giving her a C for her work. HBO Poll link here.
Accidental Rabbit Trails: My first bad adult experience riding bikes occurred back in 1981, when
my boyfriend at the time got angry with me (we were bike riding)
because I got off my bike on a steep hill and walked it up the hill. I
did that because he had gotten so slow in front of me that I figured he
was having trouble and if he
was having trouble, what luck was I going to have going up the hill?
(Turned out, he had slowed down to let me catch up to him, not because
of the hill.) He was really mad at me. He refused to go bike riding
with me after that. More here.
Question: When did you last ride a bike? Where did you ride?
Marmitetoasty: Oh, on me post about one of me nippers mums remarrying … I AINT
against 
them getting married — lord forbid — Im all for marriage and
would one day LOVE to get married again … I just didnt see the sense
in such a HUGE second marriage with so much dosh when they have other
needs … but, each to their own … and if its what they both want then
so be it … Me, I would remarry in an old shed or barn or in a meadow that cost nuffin, if I just loved ‘him’ to the tips of me socks :)
Question: What was the setting for your wedding?
CindyH: I’ve got four sons. From the time they could open the door for themselves their father taught them to hold the door for ladies. I’m
perfectly capable of opening my own doors, but courtesy is something to
be admired and encouraged. I’ve watched the compliments my teenage sons
receive when we’re out together. Courtesy isn’t dead. It just has to be taught.
Question: When did you last see an old-fashion display of manners?
Keith Erickson: My guess is this apology is only being made as a deal with the city to
not pursue legal action against Sims and Macy. Isn’t that where things
are/were headed? In my experience with Sims back in my newspapering
days, she is not somebody who would admit wrongdoing unless something
was in it for her. Like avoiding further costly legal action. Shame on
Sims and Macy for dragging this out for so long. And double shame for
their last-minute antics to begin with.
Question: Are you satisfied with the end result? Or should the city have pursued court action?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
At 6 o’clock tonight, the City Council will begin its regular Tuesday meeting — a meeting at which ex-county GOP chairwoman Kathy Sims — or her attorney Peter Erbland — is suppose to apologize for 2007 campaign finance violations. You can read about that here. Should be good theater. Also, make sure that you vote in the HBO Poll today in which I ask your opinion of Superintendent Hazel Bauman’s job performance here. Or you can simply use this Wild Card to start an evening thread or two …
In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, a dog feeds some of its 15 puppies at its owner’s home in Huai’an city, east China’s Jiangsu province on Tuesday. The dog gave birth to 15 puppies two weeks ago and all of the doggies survived, giving their owner a surprising delight, Xinhua said. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Xu Changzheng)
Going far meant separation from my family and as I have moved into my fifties, I’ve become
more and more acutely aware of the number of people I know who have sketchy relationships with their siblings. I know people who don’t speak to siblings. I know others who rarely see their brothers and sisters. I’m aware of jealousies, old grudges, money battles. I’m aware of others who have been benignly neglectful of their siblings. They don’t dislike them. They’ve just drifted and never thought to do much about it/Raymond Pert, Kellogg Bloggin’. More here.
DFO: Welcome back, Raymond. I’ll get your link back up on the blog roll Wednesday.
Question: Do you keep close ties with your siblings?
Susanna Mendez, 9, of Hayden Idaho prepares to run Bloomsday on Sunday. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
Gay rights advocate Matthew Arnold-Lloyd of Albany, N.Y., right, meets nose to nose with an unidentified man opposed to gay marriage during a recent rally outside the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. You write the cutline.
Top Cutlines:
The Concerned Taxpayers of Kootenai County (“CTKC”) and its treasurer Kathleen Sims have sent a letter of apology to the city of Coeur d’Alene and paid a civil penalty of $2,500.00 to settle a lawsuit filed by the city in 2008 over the CTKC and Ms. Sim’s failure to comply with campaign reporting laws in the 2007 Coeur d’Alene municipal election. CTKC distributed a campaign flyer in the 2007
Mother’s Day can be a lot of pressure – especially on dads and adult children. When the holiday comes around – and it’s happening this Sunday – people find themselves scrambling to find the perfect gift. They send flowers, buy chocolates, purchase certificates to the spa, the mall or a restaurant. Gift-givers are expected to spend less this year because of the recession, according to the National Retail Federation, but Mother’s Day spending is still estimated to reach $14.1 billion. Mother’s Day, however, was never intended to be another occasion to buy Hallmark cards and presents for mom/Virginia de Leon, Are We There Yet? More here.
Question: What do you mothers out there want for Mother’s Day Sunday?
Jack Lohrke was one of the baseball players on the 1946 Spokane Indians baseball team. He 
was the player who was pulled off the bus at Ellensberg, Washington - right before the mountain pass and right before the bus plummeted down the mountainside, killing nine of the players on board. The highway patrol found him at dinnertime in Ellensberg to tell him that the San Diego Padres had called him up, that the Indians’ front office had asked the highway patrol to let him know, and that he should get his gear off the bus and hitchhike back to Spokane so he could fly to San Diego for his next baseball-playing opportunity/Beth Bollinger, Accidental Rabbit Trails. More here.
Question: When did you last attend a Spokane Indian ballgame?
This is a photo of Connie Culp, after an injury to her face, left, and then as she appears today. Culp is underwent the first face transplant surgery the United States at the Cleveland Clinic in December 2008. Culp spoke to the media at a news conference at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland today. The 46-year-old mother of two lost most of the midsection of her face to a gunshot in 2004. (AP Photo/Cleveland Clinic-HO)
Huckleberries Online has received a copy of the letter of apology that Kathy Sims of the Concerned Taxpayers of Kootenai County will read tonight to the Coeur d’Alene City Council. It includes acknowledgement of four violations of the campaign finance laws by her group in the 2007 municipal elections and an apology for those violations. Sims and Tom Macy were behind a last-minute flyer (see above) in the City Council elections that criticized three council incumbents, including two seeking re-election. Sims also has agreed to pay a fine of $2,500. City Attorney Mike Gridley told Huckleberries that he will circulate a news release later today. Meanwhile, you can read Sims letter here.
Update: City Attorney Mike Gridley’s news release
Question: Do you think the city properly pressed its complaint against Kathy Sims, Tom Macy, and Concerned Taxpayers of Kootenai County re: campaign finance violations from the 2007 municipal elections?
SR colleague Scott Maben informs Huckleberries Online that Duck Cam is live on our SR.com online quick links. Duck Cam features a mother duck on nest on a ledge on the Sherwood Building in downtown Spokane. Maben assures HBO Central that there’s an Idaho angle to Mother Duck. “I think she got pregnant in Idaho,” he deadpanned. You can see Mother Duck on the next — live — here.
Idaho’s speaker of the House has decided to unilaterally kill legislation to expand Idaho’s Sunshine Law, which would have ended the state’s distinction as one of just three states with no personal financial disclosure requirements for elected officials or candidates. “The Senate and the governor worked on it, but the House wasn’t included,” said House Speaker Lawerence Denney, R-Midvale. “I think it’s an issue that’s not ripe on the House side yet”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: What do you think of House Speaker Lawerence Denney’s unilateral action in killing an expansion of Idaho’s Sunshine Law?
A trio of pig sculptures wear masks provided by employees of a nearby restaurant, Monday in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Faith Cathcart)
Spokane kayaker catches kayakers plunge of Palouse Falls (video)/KREM2
OrangeTV: Let’s celebrate the holiday with a gut-wrenching reminder how racist and paranoid some of our local residents are, shall we? Be warned, some of these reader comments (currently posted on the Coeur d’Alene Press online site) are astounding, angering, and scary … (Coeur d’Alene Press thread here)
DFO: I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing by re-printing the thread above from OrangeTV’s comments post. It contains racist tripe that’s typical of too many threads on the Coeur d’Alene Press online site. Who knows? Mebbe the Press brain trust can be embarrassed into cleaning up its Web site.
I love Cinco de Mayo. I look forward to this day all year long. It’s the one day of the year I know that I can get Pan Fried Tacos at the Mexican Food Factory on Fourth Street here in Coeur d’Alene. Sure I can get a fried taco at any roadside stand through out the year but it just isn’t the same. First, the roadside stand tacos aren’t nearly as hearty or filling. Second, when I go to the roadside stand, I’m likely eating there all by myself in my car. Going to the Mexican Food Factory here in town is like going to an informal reunion of old friends of all different ages. Last Friday, Cinco de Uno, I grabbed my camera as I went out the door to the Food Factory. I took some photos so I could help pressure the owners into creating a Facebook page/MamaJD. More here.
Question: How has the Mexican culture enriched your life?
Lynn Berk: Do you remember me — the writer with the funny hair who was fired by the Press after I got sick? Since I have no way to inform people through The Press, I was wondering if you would be so kind to let your readers know what happened to me since a lot of sweet, caring people were left in the lurch by my abrupt departure and I had no time to grab all my contact info. If you could, please just let people know I’m alive, gettiing better, and back in my Las Vegas home working on novels. I miss the very bone-deep kindness of the people in North Idaho who were there for me and Alan from the beginniing and they can always reach me at lynnberk49@yahoo.com. I have not forgotten them.
It seems that it never will end
And few on the House side will bend
Though vetoes rain down
And Butch wears a frown
Still $30K a day we will spend …
Betsy Russell/Eye On Boise
Question: Are you bothered that Idaho’s is spending $30,000 per day to keep the Idaho Legislature in session?
“Coming to this country is a privilege. If you can’t live by the rules that we live by, the standards and the values that we live by, we should exclude you from this country and, what’s more, now we will make public those people that we have excluded. “We are publishing the names of 16 of those that we have excluded since October. We are telling people who they are and why it is we don’t want them in this country.” She said the number of people excluded from Britain had risen from an average of two a month to five a month since October. The list of the 16 “least wanted” includes radio talk show host Michael Savage, real name Michael Weiner/The Independent UK, More here.
Question: Do you approve/disapprove of the United Kingdom’s decision to bar Michael Savage and others it considers outside agitators? Should the U.S. follow suit?
Anthony Estrada Jr., 7, spins, jumps and gyrates to the beat of music provided by local musicians 24/7 at the Cinco de Mayo celebration in Victoria, TX, Saturday. (AP Photo/Victoria Advocate, Frank Tilley) Question: Do you have Hispanic or Latino blood in you?
So, this fight isn’t really over the gas tax, it is a fight about the future of the Republican Party in 
Idaho. Will the far right conservatives fully subsume the Republican Party? Will they eventually oust Butch Otter as being too “moderate”? Will they impose some far right litmus test for belonging to the Republican Party (labeling everyone else RINO’s – Republican In Name Only)? Will they close their primary elections forcing people to register for their party to vote in their primary – all at public expense? FYI - a decision on a lawsuit - brought by the far right - to force the closing their party primary election is currently pending in front of Judge Winmill. All of these pressures are forcing Republican legislators to move inexorably further to the right/Sen. Elliott Werk (pictured), Working For Idaho. More here. H/T: Unequivocal Notion.
Question: Do you think Sen. Werk’s conclusion is correct — that the standoff over gas taxes really is about the attempt by ultraconservative Repubs who control the House to gain greater control of the Idaho GOP?
Although it has only been mentioned by politicians who are looking for a few quick points, we should seriously consider establishing a national service. Like similar programs in Germany and Israel, a national service would require all Americans to contribute to the improvement of the nation with two years in the service of the United States around the time they come of age. Of course, the primary service would be in the Departments of Defense. With a pool of soldiers flowing in at all times, the Armed Forces would be able to do away with their costly recruiting budgets. … However, military would not be the only option. Conscientious objectors and those unfit for service would be free to enlist in other government agencies/Jeffrey Reznicek, UI Argonaut. More here.
Question: Should this country establish a national program that requires young Americans to volunteer for two years of service — military or civilian?
Steve Briggs, the district’s chief financial officer, said the students had their facts wrong. Though a “pay to play” system was discussed months ago, it is no longer being considered, he said. Briggs said the district’s activities budget will decline from about $1.66 million this school year to about $1.47 million next school year – a cut of about $187,000. As a result, the activity director positions at both high schools will be reduced to half-time. Other cuts will not be as severe as described by the students, Briggs said. The recently passed levy devotes $1.3 million annually to the district’s activities budget. That money remains intact and makes up the majority of the money for activities throughout the district, Briggs said/Alison Boggs, SR. More here.
Question: Do you think the striking students were acting on good information? Or are administrators right in downplaying the cuts and stating that everything will work out?
Tanner Schalk is shown during a recent track practice at Lake City High School on Wednesday. Schalk is veteran SR prep writer Greg Lee’s latest profile for the Handle Extra edition here. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
In another evenly divided HBO Poll vote Monday, 36 of 70 respondents (51%) said they’d never been involved in a protest of any kind, including 10 who responded that they’d never had a reason to demonstrate. On the other hand, 34 of 70 (49%) said they’d protested at one time or another, including 7 who’d been involved in civil-rights protests. Only 3 admitted that they’re former flower-child-era demonstrators.
Bent: Went bicycle riding with my wife. We just got new bikes, what a blast. I almost forgot how much fun it is to ride a bike. I’ve been taking my bike to work and riding at lunch, and twice last
week I put it on the bus, took the bus to Liberty lake and rode my bike
home to Post Falls. … If the weather holds I am going to do it
again today. … Next week is Bike to Work Spokane, and we have a corporate team so I’ll try riding both ways that week.
Question: When did you last ride a bike?
JeanieS: I support (the domestic-partners law) — it also includes couples that are over 65. I think it
should also cover couples who have been together for a certain length
of time regardless of age. Case in point: Me, younger than 65, together
with significant other for 23 years with bills to back me. Ok, we could
get married, but then I would inherit all the bad things too. What if
he has a stroke and ends up in a nursing home? Would I have to cover
it with MY funds?
Question: Since HBO never hesitates to enter a mine field, I have to ask a question that intrigues me: Why are an increasing number of people choosing to live together rather than get married?
Herb Huseland: Now we have the offspring of those that dropped out, dropped down and
let it all 
hang out. It is no wonder that our society has floundered,
considering that the past generation has cast out all that has been
held holy in the birth and growth of our country. The only hope that I
have is, first, that I’m old enough to not have to see first hand the
demise of our great country, but caring enough to languish about what
you younger people are doing to not only yourselves, but those that
come after. It might be advisable, to start teaching Chinese in our
schools, because unless we start caring about what happens here instead
of who buys from whom cheaper, we’re toast!
Question: Is this country better/worse off today than when you were a kid?
Joe Butler: I don’t think the Press has even entered this one since I left. As a
perpetual club 
officer, it fell to me to hand out the forms and collect
whatever entries people wanted to turn in. Mike Patrick never
especially seemed to care for this one or wanted to spend the budget on
it. But he never stopped people from entering on their own time and own
dime. He also would occasionally give bonuses if people won big at this
one or SPJ. (Mike preferred the AP contest, which represented more
states, and also pitted papers against comparable sized papers, instead
of all the papers in the state.)
Question: Do these media awards presentations mean anything to readers?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
On this day in history: In 1961, 13 civil rights activists, dubbed “Freedom Riders,” began a bus trip through the South. And, in 2003, Idaho Gem was born. He was the first member of the horse family to be cloned. In 1959, Randy Travis was born. And, in 1929, Audrey Hepburn was born. Today, in the news, Janet Jackson’s exposed breast during the 2004 Super Bowl is still bouncing around the courts here. Now, for the Wild Card.
Frogs seen in a forest pool (74 miles)120 km north-west of St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
I think the district has an opportunity to educate the students and teachers involved in the walk 
out about the responsibilities that come with our right to free speech. I would hope that the district does the right thing and mark all the students that participated as an unexcused truancy, and write up any teachers involved for walking of the job. I think that it’s great that they exercised their right to free speech, even though I think that they did it in the wrong way, but now I think that its time to teach them with that the rights that our founding fathers gave us comes the responsibility to be held accountable for your actions.
Question: Should the students involved in the Coeur d’Alene High walk out be reprimanded with an unexcused absence, as PatrickH Is Digging Spring suggests? What would you do with the students — and teachers — involved in the protest?
Chief Allan (seated center) was recently re-elected to the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Council with the highest vote total among those seeking office — and then reappointed unanimously to serve as chairman again. Ernie Stensgar, the long-time former chairman, was appointed vice chairman. You can read about the recent tribe elections here.
Chenwei Hsieh and his dog “Juicy” go for a bike ride along Richmond St. in London, Ontario, Canada on Saturday. Instead going for a walk, Hsieh takes a leisurely bike ride while “Juicy” runs behind him. When she’s tuckered out she hops on his back and enjoys the ride home. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,London Free Press-Derek Ruttan)
Top Cutlines:
Dunno why this Yorkshire terrier reminds me of Chewbacca the Wookiee in the “Star Wars” series. The Yorkie took part in the 17th International dog exhibition in Prague, Czech Republic, Sunday. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Item: Washington Values Alliance seeks to overturn “Everything-But-Marriage” legislation/Rich Roesler, Eye On Olympia
More Info: As expected, Washington Values Alliance president Larry Stickney this afternoon filed a ballot measure to overturn Senate Bill 5688, which grants state-registered domestic partners most of the rights of married spouses. More than 5,000 couples have registered in the past two years, including many same-sex couples.
Question: Do you support/oppose the “everything-but-marriage” legislation?
You can read how Beth Bollinger/Accidental Rabbit Trails got her bike from Arpie (via the “Dufort Mall”) and Beth’s trying experience with bikes in her past here.
Question: Did you ever visit the Fish Inn?
Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, said Senate leaders met with the governor today at noon, but didn’t meet with House leaders. “I don’t see that there was progress made,” he said heavily, as the 113th day of this year’s legislative session drew near a close. “The Senate did quite a bit of work today, we passed a slug of bills. … They can all go to the governor for his consideration, and possible veto, though I hope not.” Davis said the current impasse is one “that the House needs to resolve with the governor. I have confidence the governor is willing to negotiate”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: At this point, do you admire Gov. Otter for his stand on principle during this stalemate? Or consider him bull-headed for not giving in and letting the Legislature adjourn?
Coeur d’Alene High School senior Ariel James attempts to recruit other students to attend the School District #271 Board meeting Monday night while they were participating in a walk-out during school hours at Coeur d’Alene High Monday afternoon. Students were protesting proposed budget cuts for the 2009-2010 school year. Original HBO story. (SR Photo)
Put your hands together for Betsy Russell, the SR’s state political reporter extraordinaire, who hauled in some big time hardware at the annual Idaho Press Club’s awards ceremony Saturday. Betsy shared the IPC’s First Amendment Award w/the Idaho news media for Joseph Duncan trial access. Also, she shared a first-place award with Meghann Cuniff for her Duncan trial coverage and came in third in the Reporter of the Year category. The SR won first in the General Excellence category. Huckleberries took first in the Best Blog category. And the North Idaho College Sentinel and UIdaho Argonaut won several awards, too. You can view all the categories and winners here.
About 70 people have gathered in front of the steps of the Capitol Annex to protest against taxes, in what organizers dubbed “Tea Party II.” The Rev. Bryan Fischer, in a press release, said, “The purpose of Tea Party II is to give ordinary Idaho taxpayers the opportunity to voice their opposition to an increase in their tax burden during a recession.” Among those gathered was one man with a sign saying “FBO,” which he explained stood for “Forget about Butch Otter”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Without warning, at about 2:30 p.m., Bradt’s red kayak appeared on the top left side of the falls from Schloss’ perspective at the park’s overlook. With a few quick paddle strokes, he steered the boat down a green tongue of water and quickly disappeared in the plummeting, billowing stream of white. “I got pictures, but he’s hidden in the whitewater,” Schloss said. “It happened so fast, but then it seemed like eternity before he popped up clear over on the right side. “He was OK, and everybody started cheering.” The 22-year-old professional paddler had set a record in the unofficial realm of waterfall bagging: He’d survived the highest known waterfall descent in a kayak/Rich Landers, SR. More here.
Question: What is the most daring thing that you’ve done?
At 12:30 p.m. today, Coeur d’Alene High students began protesting what they felt was 
misrepresentation on the part of Superintendent Hazel Bauman and other administrators of the successful $7.8 million levy election April 21. The students walked out of their sixth period classes and gathered outside of Jordan Court by the general student parking lot. Students believe that Bauman promised not to cut district athletic budgets in exchange for help on the levy, which passed with 74% approval. Afterward, coaches, athletes and sports supporters say they felt betrayed when told that the budgets — about $250,000 for both local high schools, including $75,000 for activities — would be cut by 50%. On Thursday, the Coeur d’Alene Educators Association staged a protest outside the District office. The crowd, wearing red, chanted and were reportedly a group large enough to require traffic to detour elsewhere because they blocked off the street. The CEA claims the district made misrepresentations to members about the levy and future cuts. Teachers at th protest report that Superintendent Bauman came to the front steps of the district office but did not address the crowd.
Question: Do you think Superintendent Hazel Bauman is doing a good job?
Drama teacher Christina Jamerson is coated with ketchup, to simulate blood, before portraying an accident victim in a mock drunk driving accident on the football field at North Douglas High School in Drain, Ore., Friday Representatives from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and local firefighters staged the accident to show students the dangers of drunk driving. (AP Photo/The News-Review, Robin Loznak)
Question: Have you ever participated in a mock disaster drill?
OrangeTV: I can understand the need to edit a bit for space, but its very frustrating to work on a piece for hours and hours only to find it randomly hacked to bits in final form. This last one barely made sense by the time they were done. It wasn’t even the “harsh stuff” that they chose to cut. Is that normal lately? They usually don’t do that. I’d prefer they allow me to create a shorter version myself …
Question: OTV is complaining re: the amount of stuff left out of his Sunday Handle Extra review re: the Flying J restaurant cuisine. You can read the two versions for yourself SR here and Get Out! North Idaho here. Have you ever written copy for any publication that got editted more than you thought necessary?
Jordan Wilson, left, and Hannah Conyers share a caramel apple at the Ottaway Amusement Company Carnival during the 77th Annual Tri-State Music Festival Sunday in Enid, Okla. (AP Photo/Enid News and Eagle, Bonnie Vculek) Question: Do you remember your first puppy love?
The IVA is joining with Tea Party Idaho, the organization that sponsored the hugely successful Tea Party rally on April 15, to host Tea Party II today at 12 noon at the Capitol Annex. The Annex is the old Ada County Courthouse, and is the temporary home of the Idaho legislature while the state capitol undergoes renovation. It is across the street just east of the capitol building. The brief 30 minute rally will be held to strengthen the resolve of the Idaho House to hold firm in its resistance to any increase in the gas tax that Idaho families pay at the pump/Bryan Fischer, Idaho Values Alliance. More here.
Question: Do you support the Tea Party that will be held in Boise today to oppose Gov. Butch Otter’s insistence on a gas tax increase?
Can anyone believe that women are paid an average of only 60 cents for every $1 a man is paid for equal work? OK, that is the average for Idaho - not the most enlightened of states - so maybe it isn’t so hard to comprehend. But nationwide, women are making 78 cents for every $1 paid a man, according to 2007 figures, and that’s still nowhere near good enough. It’s also illegal, and has been since Congress passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963. But considering some recent actions on the equal pay front, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised the law is broken as commonly as it apparently is/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Have you worked in a place where you were certain that women didn’t get the same pay as men, despite doing the same work?
A wheelchair racer watches as the pack of Elite Men racers pass during Bloomsday in Spokane, Wash. (Rajah Bose/The Spokesman-Review)
Question: How did you spend Bloomsday morning?
Item: CDC confirms one swine flu case in Idaho: 10 more probable cases reported in Washington/SR, AP
More Info: According to the Panhandle Health District, the woman became ill after a recent trip to Texas. She has been recovering at home. The woman, who represents the first confirmed case of swine flu in Idaho, is retired and has had limited contact with other people since she began feeling ill, health district officials said. Spokane Health District spokeswoman Julie Graham said Sunday there has been no such confirmation for the two probable cases in Spokane County.
Question: Are you more/less concerned about the swine flu outbreak today than you were a week ago?
The Senate is assembled and ready to go this morning, but is awaiting the amendments to HB 372, the new election consolidation bill, before starting. Amending that bill is among the items on senators’ agenda for their morning session today. “We’re continuing to try and work,” said Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls. Asked if he’d heard anything from his counterparts across the Capitol Annex, Davis said, “Not a word.” The House is tentatively scheduled to go back into session around noon today, after unsuccessfully attempting last Wednesday night to unilaterally adjourn the legislative session/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Any guesses re: how the showdown between Gov. Otter and House GOP leaders will play out this week?
Before our arrival, we were possibly a little caught up in the enigma, the classic Americana of the 24-hour truck stop diner. We wanted glossy cakes and pies displayed in bright pastry cases. White-and-cherry-red porcelain tiles on the countertops and floors, stainless steel fixtures in the kitchen. Beehived waitresses hopped up on strong coffee, flying around and acting sassy like Flo from Mel’s Diner: “Kiss my Grits!” The only part of our little retro fantasy to come true were the telephones at every table, for the modern-day Flying J restaurant has absolutely zero kitsch factor and is done up in morose dark greens and boring beiges with lighting like a funeral home/Patrick Jacobs, Flying J. More here.
Question: Did OrangeTV nail his review of the Flying J restaurant? Or was he too harsh?
At 12:20 p.m. Saturday, the Timberlake Fire Protection District responded to an ATV accident on Lakeview Road near the Forest Service 278 road intersection. The ATV operator went off a steep embankment and landed approximately 100 feet below against a tree. Bystanders on the scene provided patient care until emergency responders arrived. The patient was not wearing a helmet. Full report/more photos from Timberlake Fire District here.
In a weekend HBO Poll, you Merry Hucksters were split on the use of torture by the U.S. government with 50% (80 of 161) saying no and 46% (74 of 161) saying yes. Broken down further, 53 (33%) so opposed the use of torture that they thought those involved in the torture should be prosecuted. Among those who favored use of torture, 44 (27%) said such techniques should be used only in rare circumstances. Seven Merry Hucksters (4%) weren’t sure how they stood on this issue.
Charlie: Whippersnapper poses the question, “What is torture?” All kidding
aside, for me it is the fear of falling from high places. The closer I
get to the roof eave, the more my heart races. If I were forced to
stand on a high place it would be torture to me. The Sears Tower is
putting in a glass floor on one of their observation decks, me standing
on it would not be pleasant. The funny thing about me, I love to fly,
in an airplane, no problems. Go figure!
Question: Not to minimize the terrific discussion re: torture over the weekend, but Charlie makes an interesting observation. The Sears Tower glass floor on an observation deck would be torture for him due to his fear of heights. Considering your phobia(s), what would be torture for you?
Escapee: I always found it ironic, that while Avista keeps raising rates, it
also includes a nifty little box on your bill that invites you to
donate to “project share” so that those in need can stay warm. Heck, if
you can pay yer power bill, you should want to donate, right?
Question: Do you ever contribute a buck or $2 extra on your Avista bill to help the less fortunate? Or do you figure that Avista has gouged you enough?
Eagle Keeper44: Raised in the Carolina’s . My uncle Bill was a Moonshiner and made some really GOOD white lightning. Dad would keep a Jug in the cellar hidden, or so he thought. I would “borrow” some and add water to replace what I took. Developed a taste for it and sippin whiskey too. Yes, as a teenager nothing ever could happen to me. Drove drunk as a skunk an sometimes barely made it home. There but for the grace of GOD go I …
Question: Do you have any outlaws in your family tree?
Brent Andrews: I don’t know how to tell my family, ‘Please don’t indoctrinate my child
against the 
president.’ Right now I’m trying to think of a way to bring
my little girl back around at least to neutral. I don’t want her going
to school saying she hates the president. Her teacher, who likely as
not will be a black woman, will think I taught her that, naturally, and
I voted for the guy. The other thing is, when the president was from
the other party, all my little girl ever heard out of me was love your
country, love your president, whether I thought the guy was worth a
nickle or not. I think children should be left out of some conversations.
Question: Have you tried to pass on your political beliefs to your children? Or do you let them decide for themselves which political party or cause to support?
Nick Anderson/Houston Chronicle
This day in history belongs to the Margarets — Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prise in 1939 for her bestseller “Gone With The Wind” and Margaret Thatcher became the first female prime minister of England in 1979. Also, at age 54, Willie Shoemaker became the oldest jockety to win the Kentucky Derby in 1986, aboard Ferdinand. Today is National Join Hands Day and Frankie Valli’s 72nd birthday. Please take time to vote in this weekend’s poll re: the torture issue. Now, I’m replaying the Saturday Wild Card, so you can see what others have said so far on the weekend Wild Card …
As the secrets about the CIA’s interrogation techniques
continue to come out, there’s new information about the frequency and
severity of their use, contradicting an 2007 ABC News report, and a new
focus on two private contractors who were apparently directing the
brutal sessions that President Obama calls torture.
Top interrogation officials’ “waterboarding expertise” was “misrepresented.” According to current and former government officials, the CIA’s secret waterboarding program
was designed and assured to be safe by two well-paid psychologists now
working out of an unmarked office building in Spokane, Washington/The Blotter with Brian Ross, ABC News. More here.
Question: What do you think of this local connection to the international torture story?
In this Oct. 9, 2002, file photo, the hood ornament of a 1967 Pontiac GTO in Sturtevant, Wis., is shown. The Pontiac GTO is considered by many to be the first true muscle car. General Motors announced it is killing off Pontiac, the maker of impressively big and noisy cars that, when it came to being immortalized in song and movies, once outdid everybody else. (AP Photo/Journal Times, Mark Hertzberg)
Question: Did you ever own a muscle car?
When Holli High broke her wrist snowboarding at Bogus Basin in January, she immediately sent a text message on Twitter to tell friends about the fall. Soon after, there was another message - a “Tweet” - from a nurse at the hospital who is one of High’s friends from the social networking Web site. “She met up with me in the ER and gave me an icepack,” High said. Meanwhile, Ryan Woodings used his BlackBerry to snap and post photos of High as she sat in the hospital. Boise-area users of Twitter - now most popular with working adults age 35 to 49, according to Nielsen Online - say it has broadened their circle of friends, enhanced existing relationships and even led a few to find love/Katy Moeller, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Why do/don’t you use Twitter?
May Day … (is) a day for the anonymous gift of
flowers … a tradition vaguely rooted in Celtic history. 
Or it’s a
distress signal. And if the voices in your head are saying “Mayday,
mayday, mayday,” there is a very logical explanation. May is National
Mental Health Month. If you refer to yourself in third person -
this month is for you. If you believe that Elvis lives next door - this
month is for you. If you can only eat food in even quantities - this
month is for you. If you have an irrational fear of bald people, 100%
fruit juices, and awkward pauses — (sound of crickets chirping) — this month is for you. To
help celebrate NMHM, I’m going to list my favorite mental disorder
movies. Here are 12 movies to help you feel better about your crazy
self. There’s a variety of psychological disorders here, and there
should also be a good mix of genre’s… mystery, action, comedy,
horror. Hopefully something for each of your mood swings/Nic, Rants, Raves & Random Thoughts.
Question (from Nic): May is National Mental Health Month. In the spirit of mental health, I’m curious. What is everybody’s favorite movie about people with psychological disorders?
Sisyphus: There’s a notion that the sciences power the future, the liberal arts
explain it. Each 
discipline in the humanities has tremendous value.
Certainly if the previous administration had been better versed in some
liberal arts they wouldn’t have doomed us to repeat some history. But
to say that dance and theater aren’t degree worthy pursuits
demonstrates a woeful lack of appreciation for the discipline those
students endure. There’s not a dance student I know that couldn’t kick
an athlete’s ass on physical training and performance. And Ronald
Reagan’s acting skills carried him far.
Question: Any thespians out there? What plays did you appear in?
Idawa: it would also be good if they could find one who could match wits with
Scalia. While I don’t care at all for Scalia’s jurisprudince - his
sense irony and his ability to write well would be key qualifications.
Here is a recent Scalia gem: “What can be said often should not be
said. Prof. Reidenberg’s exercise is an example of perfectly legal,
abominably poor judgment. Since he was not teaching a course in
judgment, I presume he felt no responsibility to display any.” - Ha.
Question: Who is your favorite current Supreme Court justice? And/or: Who is your favorite Supreme Court justice of all time? Why?
Zelda Krup: It’s still hard for me to believe that books such as “Catch-22” and
“Rabbit Is Rich” were on the bestseller lists compared to the crud that
populates the it today. Maybe the tipping point was “Valley of the
Dolls” (yeah, I read it in high school). Naughty. Everybody has a lit. survey book that knocked them unconscious.
“Lord Jim” was pure Seconal for me. But one or two bad experiences
shouldn’t make you abandon yourself to pulp fiction.
Question: The required-reading classic that was sleep-inducing for me during my high school days was George Eliot’s “Silas Marner.” I gave it a second chance as an adult — and was still bored to death of it. What required-reading school days classic was seconal for you?
HMOffsuite: I watch literally hundreds of boats cruise by my place every weekend.
(Hagadone’s 
house is a big attraction and a must see for boaters). In
watching the boats go by, I have made an observation. The smaller the
boat, the more people will be in it and having the most fun. Small
boats usually are loaded to the max, have inner tubes towing behind and
wake boards hanging out the boat. Often, much laughter comes from those
boats. However, a large yacht will go by, the man up on top driving and
the wife on the deck below, reading a book. They aren’t even talking to
each other. Conclusion: The smaller the boat, the more fun is being had.
Question: Are you surprised by HMOffsuite’s observations and conclusions re: the connection between the size of the boat and the fun taking place onboard?
COEUR D’ALENE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA - MOZART REQUIEM (K. 626) FEATURING THE NIC CHOIR & BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY #5 - 7:30 p.m., Schuler Auditorium, Boswell Hall, North Idaho College, Coeur d’Alene, 765-3833.
Who We Are
We, the Coeur d’Alene Symphony Orchestra, with our history of over twenty-five years performing classical as well as popular music in the Coeur d’Alene area, are one of the leading performing arts organizations of the region. With our broad base of corporate and individual sponsors, we are an integral part of the community, and an asset to the community. We draw our musicians and our audiences from Coeur d’Alene and the surrounding Inland Northwest area, including northern Idaho, eastern Washington, and western Montana.
Question: How often do you take advantage of the free music venues — Sherman Park, Riverstone, North Idaho College, City Park, etc. — offered around Lake City?
Benton County Court Commissioner Bill Platts dances on the bench of his courtroom Thursday in Kennewick, Wash. making good on a promise he made to defendants that if they got their high school diploma or GED, he would dance on the courtroom bench during his retirement party. For 25 years, Commissioner Bill Platts sat behind the Benton County District Court bench, doling out advice and punishment to shoplifters, speeders and teens caught with alcohol. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Tri-City Herald, Richard Dickin)
On this day in history: In 1992, on the third day of the L.A. riots, Rodney King appeared in public and appealed for calm, stating: “Can we all just get along?” And, in 2000, ABC aired the first celebrity “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.” In 1939, folk singer Judy Collins was born. (Other famous birthdays today here.) On this May Day, we observe Holocaust Remembrance Day and the National Day of Prayer. At Google News, today’s top story involves speculation that President Obama will pick a woman or minority person to fill retiring Justice Souter’s seat here. And the May Day Wild Card is in play …
An adult goose bites the neck of a gosling today near the Stewart Park duck pond in Roseburg, Ore. The little one appeared uninjured by the bite. (AP Photo/The News-Review, Robin Loznak)
Liz: Actually, except for Flannery O’ Connor, I cannot think of a single “serious” author that I genuinely enjoy. I am finally old enough now that I feel no need for the pretense of pretending I would rather be reading Dickens when the reality is that my literary nose would rather be inside the latest true crime thriller. I find most serious literature to be very stuck on itself, very boring and so intent on carrying a message that its infuriating.
Question (from Liz): What makes something “great literature”??? How is Stephen King, whose use of the English language to evoke incredible word pictures “less than” other works???
In this Wednesday photo, Rufous hummingbirds converge on one of the many feeders at Chris Caviezel’s home in Hyak,Wash. This time of year, when the hummers are feeding heavily, he serves up more than 100 ounces of nectar a day. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Alan Berner)
HBO received only two entries in the daily cutline contest re: the two wreslters looking at a supposed outline of the Virgin Mary on a griddle of a Calexico, Calif., restaurant. Rather than re-running that photo, I’m running an accompanying one that shows what the wrestlers were looking at. Do you see it?
“The Bullitt sisters were handing out coffee and donuts to the photogs and reporters,” Rick Aguilar says of the company’s previous owners during a strike. Aguilar started in the station’s mailroom in 1975 while still a student at Spokane Falls Community College and went on to become one of KREM’s main photographers and senior editors. He was among those laid off last week. Also on the list were chief photographer and 33-year veteran Russ Cameron; another senior photographer, Larry Storey; and reporter Rochelle Ritchie. “It’s not that way anymore,” Aguilar continues. “It changed from a family business to a corporation. We were just one of many. We were just a number”/Nicholas Deshais, Inlander. More here. (February 2009 File Photo: Dan Lamphere, KREM TV’s director of operations, walks a viewer through the installation of their DTV converter box.)
Question: Which Spokane TV station now provides the best regional broadcast coverage?
Landon Otis, Janice and Roley Schoonover and Libby Stockdale prepare to hit the trails at Farragut Park as participants in the recent Horseback Geocaching Ride. The event was coordinated by students in North Idaho College’s Resort/Recreation Management program, who were assigned the task of creating a community event and organizing it as part of their leisure and recreation programming class. Geocaching is a high-tech, outdoor treasure-hunting game that uses GPS. The students combined geocaching with horseback riding for this unique event open to the Sandpoint 4-H Club.
At Slight Detour, Marianne Love and hubby, Bill, have converted this manure spreader into “lawn scape.” You can see more “Late April scenes from Lovestead” here.
Several colleagues were laughing about a YouTube video making the rounds that shows men gagging and gasping for air as they tried to change a baby’s diaper — one in a hazmat suit. Before we had our two kids, I’d only changed one diaper in my life — my brother Frito Ray’s, upon my father’s orders. Dad, another brother, and I had been left alone with Baby Ray. Who had been crying for some time because he needed to be changed. So I was volunteered for the honor. And remember gagging and barely able to follow through with the assignment. However, my kids were raised wearing disposable diapers. I had no trouble changing them/Huckleberries Online.
Question (for men): Do/did you change your kids’ diapers?
She asked, “What, do you think she’s hot?” Now, I couldn’t remember that ever coming out of my mouth, let alone the fact that I had never even seen this girl until she pointed her out. I mean, sure she was pretty, but what did that have to do with anything? And what about that statement I made about how sexy my girlfriend looked? The fact is that none of that matters, because men in general don’t matter to women. It’s the “other” girl that matters most, as girls are constantly comparing themselves to someone else every day/Ian Harrington, WSU Evergreen. More here.
Question: Is Evergreen scribe Ian Harrington right — women care more about what other women think than the man in their lives?
Spokane Valley firefighters work to extinguish a house fire at Flora and Valleyway this morning. The private residence was destroyed in the morning fire that sent a pall of smoke over the area. Story here. (Christopher Anderson/Spokesman-Review)
Question: Have you lost a pet in an accidental way (i.e., hit by car, fire, etc.)?
HMOffsuite: for 30 years I have seen the size of boats on the lake increase. To a point that anyone with a boat that is smaller than about 23ft, really gets bounced around, particularly at 
the very north end of the lake. I have found that I really can’t use my 21’ Centurys on the weekends and just use my larger boat during that time. During the week is fine, but not on the weekends. I have a good friend with a 46’ boat he keeps at the Resort, and I won’t let him even tie up to my dock. (a boat that big when secured and rocking, will actually pull boards out of a dock). I taxi him when they are coming over for dinner or whatever. But, trying to put a limit on the sixe of boats wouldn’t be appropriate, imo.
Question: What limit would you put on the size of boats using North Idaho lakes?
I can think of a lot of real champions for open government in Idaho this year. People like Bill 
von Tagen, the able and respected deputy attorney general who helped wordsmith the bill and navigate through the Legislature. Or Betsy Russell, the Spokane Spokesman-Review reporter who, as Idaho Press Club president, was a stalwart advocate for a working Open Meetings Law (Disclosure: I am the club’s vice president, but Russell championed this bill on the group’s behalf). So it is disappointing to see (Gary Ingram, pictured) receive the Max Dalton Open Government Award, and an accompanying $2,000 check, from an outfit called the Idaho Newspaper Foundation. Perhaps it isn’t surprising: the foundation’s executive director is Tom Grote, publisher of The Star-News in McCall, which editorialized against the bill/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
DFO: In his comments in nominating Berry Picker Gary Ingram for the open government award, Publisher Tom Grote viewed it as a “lifetime achievement award.” Gary would certainly qualify under that classification. Others, including my compadre Betsy Russell in Boise, might be more worthy in the shorter run. But Gary certainly brought light to Idaho government by fathering Idaho’s Open Meeting Law. Do you agree/disagree with me?
According to Moscow Assistant Police Chief David Duke, Miller and a group of friends started 
drinking about 7 p.m. Friday at C.J.’s. The group took advantage of the establishment’s 7-11 deal, where consumers can drink from a keg cup for $6 with unlimited refills from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. The group left about 11:30 p.m. and went to a private residence, where they continued playing drinking games until 2 a.m., Duke said. “At 2 a.m., he began passing out,” Duke said. “His friends kept checking on him until around 4:30 a.m., when they all went to sleep.” Around 8 a.m. Saturday, Miller was found unresponsive and transported via ambulance to Gritman Medical Center in Moscow, where he was later pronounced dead/Lianna Shepherd, UI Argonaut. More here.
Question: How many of you learned about this story and thought (after considering your high school or college days): There but for the grace of God go I?
Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives voted to expand current hate-crime laws, passing H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act. The measure passed on a 249 to 175 vote with just 18 Republicans joining the majority of Democrats voting in favor. Idaho’s Representatives split their votes along party lines with 1st District Congressman Walt Minnick joining a majority of Democrats voting in favor and 2nd District Congressman Mike Simpson voting with the majority of Republicans against the bill/MountainGoat Report. More here. And: A Mother’s Quest here.
Question: Who do you side with re: the expansion of the Hate Crimes Act — Walt Minnick, who voted for it, or Mike Simpson, who voted against it?
In this February 2006 AP file photo, Supreme Court Juctices Antonin Scalia, left, Justice David Souter, center, and Justice Clarence Thomas, right, attend Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s swearing-in ceremony. Souter has announced that he plans to step down from the bench later this year. Story here.
Question: What kind of judge would you like to see appointed to take Souter’s place? And/or: What kind of judge do you expect to be appointed to take Souter’s place?
Item: WSU to cut departments of theater, dance/Andy Jones, WSU Evergreen
More Info: All the students in the Department of Theatre and Dance received notice of an emergency 1 p.m. meeting on Thursday at Wadleigh Theatre. Knowing that the university’s budget was expected to be announced today, the students braced for possible cuts of various positions within the department. Theatre instructor Ray Pritchard’s first words struck like a death blow. “The College of Liberal Arts has completely cut the theatre and dance (department),” he said. The department is not going down quietly.
Question: How important are theater and dance to a college curriculum?
With bigger boats mooring on Lake Coeur d’Alene, Hagadone Hospitality wants to retrofit a 1940s marina to provide a sheltered space for luxury yachts and other pleasure craft. A deeper harbor and two dozen 60-foot-long boat slips are part of the proposed makeover at the Marina Yacht Club on Blackwell Island, near the lake’s confluence with the Spokane River. The new marina design calls for a total of 420 boat slips of varying lengths, plus space for 128 personal watercraft. Large yachts are taking the place of vacation cabins on Lake Coeur d’Alene, said John Barlow, Hagadone Hospitality’s secretary. People moor them at marinas and live in them/Becky Kramer, SR. More here.
Question: Do you have any problems with Duane Hagadone’s proposed expansion of his Blackwell Island marina?
Dylan Dickson races for the University of Idaho team during the 10th annual SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge recently at Michigan Technical Institute. The team took third place in the race, and first place in the fuel economy portion of the contest. Story here. KRC/MTU/Courtesy Photo
Wrestlers Renegado and Mr. Tempest look at an image of what they believe is “Our Lady of Guadalupe” on a griddle at Las Palmas restaurant in Calexico, Calif, on Wednesday. Restaurant manager Brenda Martinez says more than a hundred people have flocked to the small town of Calexico on the California-Mexico border to gaze at the image since it was discovered as the griddle was being cleaned. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Imperial Valley Press, Todd Krainin)
In the daily HBO Poll Thursday, 77% (76 of 98) of you Merry Hucksters said you own an American vehicle — 59% (58 of 98) buy American exclusively, while 18% (18 of 98) own both American and foreign vehicles. Only 22% (22 of 98) own foreign vehicles exclusively.
OrangeTV:
Interestingly, sales of new vinyl record albums keeps increasing
exponentially each year as record companies reissue old titles and
bring out more and more new releases on the once-dead format. Even the
big chains like Best Buy have a little section of records again. I had turned my attention to CD collecting for a long time, but with
the advent of mp3s, I haven’t bought a new CD in years. Thing was, I
missed the thrill of the hunt that comes with music shopping so I
decided to re-fire my vinyl hobby. Slowly but surely I’m building my
collection up again.
Question: Do you have a working turn table in your home?
Nick Adams: I lived about two hours outside of Boston. The first time I drove
into Beantown, I learned very quickly that drivers there take the term
“bumper” literally. As soon as I got to my hotel (The Bostonian) I went
straight to the bar for a couple of martinis. I never did really get comfortable driving in Boston, but I loved
the city so much that I’d put up with it for the regular visits.
Although, whenever possible I’d just park as far out on the “T” as I
could and ride in
Question: Which city/town has the worst drivers that you’ve encountered?
Me: Oh LOVE that book (“The Stand”) — have read it several times. I KNOW we are supposed
to read great literature and I do, but Stephen King can paint a picture
with his words and transport me wherever he wants. I haven’t read any
of his newest books - for years, but maybe I’ll revisit some of the
older ones this summer, which is “light reading time” for me.
Question: I read King’s “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon” a couple of weeks ago. I’ve read almost everything by King, including the Gunfighter series. “Salem’s Lot” remains my favorite. Indeed, King is a great story teller. No need to apologize me. As for everyone else, which Stephen King book or short story is your favorite?
Dogjerky (an Avista employee): If you all want change step up and do something about it. It starts with our politicians not with Avista. Laws need to be change before anything will ever get better. I also wonder how many people out there complain about there bills but they smoke or drink or eat out at resturants 5 days a week or buy that $5 coffee at the coffee stand. We all have priorities but life would really suck without electricity. I’ll give up drinking beer before I let my Kootenai Electric bill slip. Full post below.
Taryn Hecker: The Spirit Lake Starbucks is right next to that five-star restaurant where I eat out five days a week after smoking three packs of cigarettes and buying my daily case of beer, all the while lamenting my inability to cover my Avista bill.
Question: For the sake of argument, let’s say Dogjerky is right — that Avista really works hard for its customers and needs the rate hikes for infrastructure and future needs. What can the Company Formerly Known As Washington Water Power do to resurrect its public image?
Scott Stantis/Birmingham News
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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