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didn’t know at the time that the boy she was reading about in the news is the same boy that would save her 15-year-old son Austin. Austin had battled Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a liver disease, for years. While his mom was reading the article about Drew Swank, Austin’s transplant coordinator called to tell him she had found a perfect match for him. The transplant was a success and Austin says his new liver brought him back to being a normal 15-year-old boy. “It means life, I got a second chance at life,” he said/Sally Showman, KXLY. 
should do a sixties era sit-in. Some were quoted as officials from the Bayview Chamber of commerce, lending that reputation to this comical stunt. One can only wonder how many folks out there in newspaper land are spitting out their coffee laughing after reading of this vital world crisis.With our economy in the tank, unemployment high and behavioral issues out of control, that such a petty cause would engender such activism/Herb Huseland, Bay Views. 
U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo has posted his responses to a “Tea Party Boise” candidate survey on his campaign website, including this oddity: Crapo told the group he “strongly agree(s)” with the statement, “I support term limits for Senators (2) and members of the House (3).” Here’s what’s odd: Crapo is currently seeking election to his third term in the U.S. Senate. If he strongly supports a limit of just two terms, does that mean he opposes his own re-election?/Betsy Russell, 
application form included a box asking if you’d ever driven drunk in your parents’ car? Plagiarized an essay on Huck Finn? Set fire to bags of dung and left them on doorsteps? That’s sort of the situation facing Starcia Ague when she graduates from Washington State University, only her stupid things were a lot more serious: three felonies associated with a break-in robbery she participated in back in 2003. It was a bad call, for sure, and she was locked up for the rest of her childhood. But to make that the end of her story would be a mistake/Shawn Vestal, SR. 
what we do online, and honestly our investment of resources is not that huge. We work hard to avoid duplication of effort, and as much as possible we fit online publication into the workflow of all the journalists here. We only have a few specialized online folks in the newsroom (two developers and a producer), and we own some servers, but really our online costs are just a fraction of what we spend to provide a print publication. Not investing in the web would never have made a measurable difference in print. I’d argue, rather, that it would have absolutely killed us. 
via Facebook: “Dear Friends of Small Streams, Praying People, Anti Chewing Tobacco Leaugue and People Who Love Bacon, etc: I’m delighted to be asked to attend your monthly breakfast meetings. However, morning and I do not get along. Especially the hour between 6 and 7. If you ever have a breakfast meeting at say, 10 or 11, you can count on my attendance. Thanks much for asking.”
either. To me “free” means dead, for the old newspaper. If the S-R has made any real profits off its Web enterprise - now, what, a decade or more old? - I’d be shocked. Think of all the money that has gone into this, that could have been spent on writers and a thicker print product that everyone has to have. That does not even address the cost to corporations of the new FB addiction raging in everyone from gradeschoolers to grandmas but seemingly more widespread among young adults who are ditching work and family to check and post. We were addicted enough to the Internet already, before FB came along as the new AOL.
Remember those Family circus cartoons showing a broken vase on the floor and a frantic-
looking toddler telling mom: “It wasn’t me! It was Mr. Nobody” – while the ghost of a mysterious Mr. Nobody scampers past … This being campaign season, well, here we are in Facebook from the Vaughn Ward congressional campaign: “Over the last few days the liberal media has begun attacking us. Please donate today to ensure the we have the resources to combat these liberal attacks. A $5 dollar donation goes a long way in helping us fight the liberal media.” Liberal, liberal, liberal: One per sentence. A piker (Kevin Richert notwithstanding): Surely Ward can up his booga-booga rate to two per sentence next time/Randy Stapilus, Ridenbaugh Press. More here.
Question: Is it possible to tell whether a Republican candidate in Idaho is in trouble by the number of times he mentions “liberal” in a statement or press release?
on the Coeur d’Alene school board, Newby will resign from the Zone 2 trustee position at the end of June. “This decision wasn’t based on the economic times or a particular issue that’s haunting the board right now, but on a commitment I made to my wife three years ago,” Newby said. Before he entered and won the last election, Newby said he and his wife, Kristine, decided this would be his final three-year term. He wouldn’t seek re-election in 2010. The passage of election consolidation legislation in 2009 added a year to Newby’s term extending it to 2011. But he’s keeping his word to his wife/Maureen Dolan, Coeur d’Alene Press. 
questionnaire – not the kind of questions that newspaper usually will ask, which generally allow for open-ended explanations, but rather the yes/no type: “Do you agree or disagree with this?” Back when advising candidates, our usual counsel was: Don’t answer those, even those of your allies. It’s an invitation to allow other people to put words in your mouth. Better (even safer) to insist, generally, to explain your own views in your own way/Randy Stapilus, Ridenbaugh Press. 
1989 I got a season pass for $36 and we paid $96 for a Gold pass. Which allowed my husband to take two others with him. Which was handy when my kids came up with the grandchildren. We got season passes for about 5 years. I think it was $39 for the season and the Gold pass had went up to $129. We loved the air show and the train. We weren’t too happy with the carnval side of it … But we love to sit and listen to Rod put his show on in the saloon. And Rex Castle was great show too. So we got good shows for the buck. And Gary’s son was working the popcorn stand in the puppet show of Rex’s. Last time we went was some time in the 1990’s I think my grandson was about 8 (he is 19 now) Wow, $41.99, guess I won’t be going anymore…. Do they still have half prices or less after 5pm? Use to be $8.
Arpie: From Betsy’s blog: “
Facebook because all we’re doing is promoting websites that aren’t ours. BUT think about it this way –- Twitter and Facebook are great for linking, and they’re where a lot of web traffic is already. Most everything we post ends up being a link back to our website. Facebook and Twitter overall don’t care about North Idaho and Spokane news, but the people who have added the SR’s page certainly do. Lots of people are on Facebook everyday. Why not try to get them to read news through Spokesman.com?
“Had it been me who showed Otter’s signs of illness, my better half would have pumped me full of Gatorade and water, made a batch of chicken noodle soup and tried to convince me to go to the doctor. I would have considered it, because after all, I do have health insurance. Then I would start doing the math. No co-pay. A $5,000 deductible. Coinsurance at 30 percent. Nope, I wouldn’t be going anywhere near a hospital”/Rachael Daigle, Boise Weekly. 
Another one is: If you go away for a “girls-only” weekend, you will pay for leaving your family to fend for themselves like wild savages. Even if fending for themselves includes Dad treating them to dinner at their favorite Mexican restaurant and taking them to a movie about dragons. Last week, these two rules collided when I returned from a women’s weekend at the Coeur d’Alene Resort. I brought home an unwanted souvenir: the World’s Worst Cold. You may think I’m exaggerating, but that would violate an unwritten newspaper columnist rule. Trust me when I say I was afflicted with an Uncommon Cold of Epic Proportion (UCEP)/Cindy Hval, Washington Voices. 
honorary co-chairs of state Rep. Raul Labrador’s (pictured) campaign, bolstering his claim to the GOP’s most conservative wing. Denney, R-Midvale, was already on Labrador’s endorsement list and has been appearing with Labrador at campaign events. Crane has been treasurer since 1999 and earlier served 16 years in the Idaho House representing Canyon County. “I can’t tell you how proud I am to have these conservative icons behind me as I work to earn the trust of grassroots Republicans across the 1st Congressional District,” Labrador said in a news release. “These two men continue to make tremendous contributions to our state. I’m humbled by their confidence”/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. 
is the question on Facebook. 
them. Yet if you tally up how many appear on menus around Spokane, you are forced to admit that there must be a great multitude in our midst that are deeply in love with these massive and often goopy sandwiches that pack corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing between slices of toasted or grilled rye bread. Other sandwiches certainly represent much safer menu choices: sandwiches like chicken clubs, French dips, or BLTs. Yet for some reason none of these more mainstream choices capture our collective imagination quite like Reuben, this New York deli classic/Kevin Finch, SR. 
immigration, there can be no doubt that what the state legislature and governor have done in the land of the Grand Canyon has set off another raging national debate. Boycotts are threatened. Lawsuits are planned. Makes you wonder, as Linda Greenhouse wrote, what the ol’ libertarian Barry Goldwater would have thought about a bill that requires police to ask a person they only suspect of immigration violations for their papers. The Arizona law has also, I suspect, firmly cemented the partisanship of immigration politics to the long-term detriment of the GOP/Marc Johnson, The Johnson Post. 
Hemenway (pictured) re: the proposal to start the school week w/a one-hour teacher collaboration. (
offer him exactly what he wants: a debate. Bradbury is seeking to unseat incumbent Justice Roger Burdick in the May 25 judicial election for an Idaho Supreme Court seat that’s also drawn attention from Justice Jim Jones, who sits alongside Burdick on the bench. Jones on Tuesday sent out a statement to the media on his Idaho Supreme Court letterhead, taking exception to Bradbury’s campaign statements about the courts system and calling them inaccurate. Bradbury, for his part, stood by his statements and told the Times-News: “If Jones thinks I’ve got my facts wrong, I’ll meet anytime, anywhere for a debate.” After Jones read Bradbury’s comment about a debate in Wednesday’s Times-News, he decided to accept the offer and sent Bradbury a letter telling him so/Ben Botkin, Twin Falls Times-News. 
brothers on malicious harassment charges. Frank J. Tankovich, 46, and William M. Tankovich, 49, will be tried on charges of conspiracy to commit malicious harassment and malicious harassment related to an incident that occurred last August. The brothers were accused of making racially motivated threats toward Kenneth Requena, who is Puerto Rican. The brothers were tried earlier this month in Coeur d’Alene, along with a third brother, Ira G. Tankovich, 48, in the first hate-crime case to go to trial in North Idaho in recent years. A Coeur d’Alene jury deadlocked on the counts of malicious harassment and conspiracy to commit malicious harassment against Frank and William Tankovich, while convicting Ira Tankovich of the lesser charge of conpiracy to disturb the peace/Spokesman-Review. 
field of 17 for federal office in Idaho to reply to the Tea Party Boise candidate 
The Buttonhook Inn Restaurant will open very soon, possibly this week-end, but for sure next. The lease is signed, we are looking for help in several areas and as soon as we are staffed, we’ll be open. The Buttonhook for you that aren’t familiar with Bayview is the finest restaurant for miles. It has enjoyed some ups and downs since Sandy Fiscus gave up the reins but that is about to change/Herb Huseland, Bay Views. 
Dustin Hurst/Idaho Reporter: I will be interviewing both Ward and Labrador tonight. Does anyone on HBO have anything they would like me to ask the two gentlemen?
saw some of the threads about Dennis the Blogger becoming Dennis the Press Secretary…and I thought you guys had some great points. Thanks for spending the time to even discuss the obvious conflict of using my blog as a “Labrador organ” … (wow, that sounds weird … ha). Tonight’s probably my last posting on 1st Congressional District “happenings”. I’ll continue to post on TONS of other stuff, but I probably won’t post much (if anything), on the race until the next 30 days are done. It just wouldn’t be cool”/Dennis Mansfield. 
the case of a primary election, Otter and Crapo are the incumbent candidates for their party, the assumption is the party already understands the incumbent positions clearly. Like it or not, this is the party’s election to decide the candidate they will put up in the general election. It is the job of a primary challenger to turn the party against the incumbent. Why then would the incumbent give any statewide face time, media attention or name recognition to a primary challenger who polls less that 10% of the vote?
have spoken with will tell you that this is a system that does not need to be fixed. Collaboration currently takes place outside of school hours and DOES NOT IMPACT children or their families. I have heard repeatedly of the “vote” taken in a survey where the two choices are Monday or Wednesday morning. Parents at Hayden Meadows were allowed input for the test piloting at their school – their majority preference of Friday early release was overridden for Wednesday early release.
his 
OrangeTV offers this update from Parkside Bistro owner Kevin: “There is some confusion about what is going on with the bistro and some facts. 1. I own the building and all fixtures. 2. I have looked at buying the land and doing a land swap for another piece ..( a good example is the shell station on NW blvd ). 3. The city has doesn’t have to buy the building or offer some compensation. Other situations cities have given some $ so that a business can be moved .. for example 1/3 it’s value. 4. the idea that the city allow parkside to stay open for the summer is an easy proposition if the city wants to allow this. as long as the city doesn’t jeopordize grant $. Which seems to be the case/Get Out! North Idaho. 
Congressional District, as he announced Wednesday that he is bringing on blogger and political expert Dennis Mansfield to serve as his press secretary. Labrador’s campaign went silent for over a month, from March 23 to April 26, when he sent out a press release accepting the endorsement of a statewide pro-life group. Mansfield, who, in 2000 ran for the seat that Labrador and fellow Republicans Vaughn Ward and Harley Brown now seek, endorsed Labrador on his blog early Wednesday morning because he believes Labrador stands “head and shoulders” over Ward/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. 
Vaughn Ward to comply with Department of Defense regulations regarding campaign activity by members of the armed forces. The Marine Corps questioned a $2,500 click ad that pictured Ward in uniform and appeared on the Drudge Report on March 31 and April 1. See the 
intersection where 3rd and 4th separate into one way streets, there used to be a beauty shop named “Salon de Chevaux.” In High School, I took four years of French. That place used to drive my classmates and I totally bananas. See, the French word for hair is “cheveux”, but whoever established the business didn’t bother to spell-check or whatever and used the word “chevaux” instead, which means “horses.” Salon of Horses. We prank called them frequently, asking how much would it cost for old Nelly the Mare to get a perm and mani-pedi. They seemed blissfully oblivious to the problem, but it couldn’t have helped much either, since they closed after just a few whinny-ful years in business.” 
eastern Washington cities as an economic development tool is falling flat and should be abandoned. David Leland, a Portland, Ore.-based consultant, told leaders from Lewiston and Moscow in Idaho, as well as Clarkston and Pullman in neighboring Washington, that the name may be too generic to really capture the imagination of those who could help the local economies. Leland, who owns Leland Consulting Group, calls the cities a “well-kept secret,” adding many people know very little about what the Quad Cities really are/Associated Press. 
but sushi is better here in California. Much better.” I asked him to expand on that comment. And he rated three sushi places in Coeur d’Alene for me: “1. Syringa on 4th is the best of the local fare. Fresh, well prepared and fairly priced. 2. Fishermman’s Market is okay, a little pricey given its environment/decor, and order at the counter service; and 3. the Bonsai Bistro which is over priced and overrated. The food is average, at best.” He also rated Spokane sushi eateries, ranking Raw as best, followed by Sushi.com near Riverfront Park. And: “There’s also a little dive (and I mena dive) place called Suki Yaki Inn, which is surprisingly good, inexpensive, and it’s ridiculously retro ‘70s decor is nostalgic if somewhat worn.” (SR File Photo/Dan Pelle: A combo sushi plate from Suki Yaki Inn includes octopus, shrimp, tuna albacore, salmon and tuna roll and fly fish roll.)
in prison before he is scheduled to be put to death — a departure from past practices. Gardner’s defense attorney and free speech advocates criticized the move. A Department of Corrections letter sent to media said allowing such interviews would “defeat the legislative intent in eliminating the firing squad as a way to limit the attention that is focused on the condemned, while victims are forgotten.” Department of Corrections Executive Director Tom Patterson told The Salt Lake Tribune he is also concerned about the risks Gardner poses because of his two prison escapes and disruptive behavior behind bars/Sheena McFarland, Salt Lake Tribune. 
a giant, decorated RV around the state that doubles as a rolling campaign billboard, plans to unveil a new gimmick tomorrow: A giant model of a 16-foot tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur, “which will be pulled behind the Rammell for Governor RV throughout Idaho,” the Rammell campaign said in an announcement. The large model will “be used to communicate his states’ rights message about stopping the federal government from usurping state authority,” according to an announcement of tomorrow’s press conference/dinosaur unveiling/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
Labrador in his run for US Congress - even if it’s only in these last 30 days till the election. The momentum is shifting. Here’s why: I was once a voice for sorta-angry evangelicals in Idaho. “As mad as hell and not going to take it anymore”, seemed to be my motto…a motto that lasted over a decade. After an exhausting run at that, I realized that there was more to life than passion-fueled politics. There was life - and life abundantly. It took the death of my oldest son and my earlier absence - for years - from politics to help me speak in a whisper and be heard clearer than I ever had been in the past”/Dennis Mansfield. 
this teacher “collaborative” idea through the process. The Berry Picker e-mails: “
Fortunately for Spokane police, it’s the latter. Last month, a Spokane woman saw an ad from a man named Rick Obelophy 
Meals in a California county: “I have mixed feelings about this. My kids love for a cheeseburger and fries does not seem to be too swayed by toys. It’s more of a bonus than a deal breaker. I’ve never heard them say, “Oh I can’t get the toy. Then I think I’ll have the salad.” (The irony at McDonalds is that the salad has more calories than the Happy Meal.) The good thing about a Happy Meal is that the portions are small and when we used to get them we’d get the apples and plain milk instead of fries and soda. I don’t think a food police state is the answer to our current food dilemmas.” 
Supreme Court; last year, justices rebuked the Grangeville-based district judge for failing to live in Idaho County. (Justice Roger) Burdick, pictured, a seven-year court veteran, is an unabashed advocate for a court system, and has little patience for Bradbury. Asked about a frequent Bradbury complaint — the suggestion that the court system is out of the price range of the everyday Idahoan — Burdick doesn’t hide his exasperation. “We throw these things against the wall,” Burdick told the Statesman editorial board. “I have no idea what is meant by that statement”/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. 
Again, I need to turn to Cindy for a comment idea that she posted on Facebook (and allowed me to cross-post here at HucksOnline) re: song dedications. Cindy: (‘Babe’ by Styx) was on the radio when I took Sam to school this morning. Sigh … my first boyfriend called KJRB to dedicate this song to me. ‘Cuz, uh. She’s my babe.’ Subsequent boyfriends may have been more eloquent, but they never called any radio stations.”
dropped a piece of bread w/peanut butter on it … and the bread ended right side up. As proof, she later posted a coupla things that proved the peanut butter toast side up test was a valid predictor, including: 1. Only two cars ahead of me at Starbucks this morning. 2. Delightful interviews with handicapped adults still have me smiling. 3. The gentleman in front of me in line at Fred Meyer insisted on unloading my groceries for me. and 4. Just interviewed an ER doc about meditation practices and I UNDERSTOOD what he said (mostly).
bring the government to the citizens … literally. Between July 2009 and February 2010, Gov. Butch Otter’s “Capital for a Day” program had a price tag of more than $65,000, and not all state officials believe it’s a good use of money. Capital for a Day is a town-hall style meeting, conducted at a selected small town each month. Last July, Gov. Otter and the state contingent travelled to Mackey to get some face time with citizens there. In August, Ririe was Capital for a Day, followed by Kendrick in September, Dubois in October, Lava Hot Springs in November, Carey in December, Shoshone in January, Hazleton in February, Nezperce in March, and Oakley in April/Jay Howell, Idaho Freedom Foundation. 
Sandpoint boy. The Sandpoint Police Department linked the boy to the ad after the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office obtained Internet Provider address information indicating the ad was posted from a computer in that area, Sgt. Dave Reagan said today. Investigators believe the ad was a hoax. “That’s all we wanted to do - find out how posted it and if it was a hoax,” Reagan said. The boy is being investigated for possible criminal charges, said Sandpoint police Lt. Corey Coon/Meghann M. Cuniff (pictured), Sirens & Gavels. 
Page Six: Kyle Wilson celebrated being drafted by the
have unusual ideas about how to get out of parking tickets, but I wouldn’t go so far as the article did in calling them “paper terrorists.” If there is such a thing as “paper terrorism”, then terrorism has lost all real meaning. I’m a “blizzard terrorist” when I go to DQ and get the two for one deal and eat them both without sharing. DFO is a “Headline Terrorist” when he writes a headline I feel is partisan against PaleoCons. OTV is a “Smart Alec Terrorist” when he makes me laugh in spite of myself.
such judges the tremendous advantage of incumbency when they do face their retention elections. This is clearly contrary to the spirit of the Idaho Constitution. Looking at the remarks then Justice Linda Copple Trout made to the Idaho Statesman on June 25, 2007 as well as the Idaho Judicial Council’s advocacy of appointment (they refer to it as “merit selection”) in their annual reports should leave no doubt that many of these early resignations are politically and strategically motivated. Second Justice Roger Burdick (pictured) has been intimately connected with the Idaho Judicial Council which is one of the worst if not the very worst of the various states’ judicial disciplinary organizations. 
something a little less frightening, a lion yawning. I spotted the big yawn while trolling through the AP photo wire in search of a subject for the daily cutline contest. I almost published it there. But I liked it so much that I decided it was time to quit putting off my switch to a new avatar, only my second since we began posting avatars in December 2008 when Blogmeister Ryan switched us over to the new blog ware. I like the new avatar because it shows the friendly, almost human side, of the lion. But folks still have to remember that it’s a lion w/big teeth.
Unopposed Justice Jim Jones blasts Judge John Bradbury (pictured), who’s challenging Justice Roger Burdick: “The candidate’s materials make inaccurate accusations against the Idaho judiciary,” Jones says in the statement. “As a member of the court, it is appropriate to address these misstatements because they cast the Idaho judiciary in a false light. A candidate for judicial office may put forth whatever proposals he may wish to improve the judicial system, but has no right to make unfounded claims that target the courts.” You can read 
congressional candidate Vaughn Ward placed on the “Drudge Report” Web site that got him in trouble with the U.S. Marines, who told Ward the ad violated military regulations about the use of the military uniform in campaigns. The ad features Ward in full combat gear, with the wording, “With your help I will vote to repeal Obamacare! Vaughn Ward for Congress,” accompanied by a button link for contributions headed “I will help! Contribute now!” Popkey reports that after the Marines objected, Ward pulled the ad. Then, Ward sent out a postcard mailing that also featured a prominent photo of him overseas in full combat gear, next to the slogan, “Vaughn Ward - Fighting for Idaho Values”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
It’s a day, rooted in jest, to encourage women to step out of the cultural norm and show a little skin, whatever it may be — maybe a particularly conservative woman wearing a pair of pants instead of a full-length skirt, or another rebelled by “forgetting” to wear the lace-trimmed tank top under a low-cut top. “Boobquake” creator McCreight said on the Facebook event Web site she hates the idea that “big boobs are always better,” and that’s not the point of “Boobquake.” She also said it’s not meant to be serious activism, but juvenile humor and light-hearted mockery. 
reprinted/reissued, especially in light of the reunion shows this summer, but it doesn’t sound like it’s going to happen. The story is long and complicated, but from what I understand, it turns out it would cost them > $30,000 just to be allowed to have new CDs printed (not including the CD manufacturing costs) … the only upside is that same process is what made the music FINALLY available on iTunes, Amazon, etc. I’d been pushing them to do that for a few years.
Fernan. … What sucked was all the friggin’ GARBAGE! We ended up using our bags to stuff them full of empty beer cans and old shotgun shells and rotted out plastic crap … the list went on and on, with unmentionable atrocities included. It was utterly gross. So our nature trip ended up turning into a rescue mission … yuck. I would’ve posted the pictures of the seven huge bags of trash we accumulated over the course of an hour or so, along with some empty plastic buckets we found and made good use of — that may have been flower pots in a previous incarnation — they got filled too, with the shards of glass we didn’t want poking through the plastic. Anyway, has anyone else experienced similar depressing episodes while trying to commune with nature?
unmitigated fortitude of that generation. And while I have had to sweat for a few hours over replacing three fence posts, my father probably averaged that many each month on the farm. He did hard farmer labor day after day, year after year. He dug rocks out of fields. He repaired steel wheels on farm implements. He spent hours tilling and planting and harvesting. And in summer, my father would get up in the middle of the night and go divert the irrigation water from one field to another. My mother worked as hard in her realm of the kitchen and garden, harvesting and canning and cooking on a wood stove in the oppressive summer heat. For good measure, she and my father hand-milked a dozen cows twice a day.” 
OTV’s review of The Long Ear reminded me to post something I’ve been meaning to forever but keep forgetting. Does ANYONE know where I can get a copy of Black Happy’s Peghead? I would think someone on here would have one available that I could burn or something. In case some of you are not familiar, Black Happy was a killer band from CDA in the 90’s. My last copy broke about a year ago and I have check everywhere including the Long Ear but haven’t been able to find a copy. If anyone can help me I would greatly appreciate it.
Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department reports the arrest of two robbery suspects from a robbery that took place on Oct. 17, 2009, at the Super 1 Foods in Hayden. Information received from a tip led investigators to Kalispell, Mont. One suspect, Philip Paul-Richard Luedcke, 22 years old from Kalispell, MT was taken into custody on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 in Coeur d’Alene by a KCSD member of the North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force. He is charged with one count of Robbery and being held at the Kootenai County Jail; his bail is $75,000. The other suspect, Nathan Wayne Hunt, 19 years old from Kalispell, MT was arrested today in Kalispell, MT on a warrant obtained by a KCSD member of the North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force/Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department. 
skeptical about why gas prices jump up and down with such wide variations from one part of the country - or the state - to another. Last week we were told the reason gas prices in Idaho are up nearly 20 cents a gallon more than in the rest of the country is because of financial troubles at a Utah oil refinery. Some guy in Salt Lake City bounced a check and now we here in Idaho have to pay the price. I never realized the petroleum business was that fragile. But, then, I began to wonder the last time there was a big bump in price and we were told the oil company manager’s grandma had died and he shut down the plant to attend her funeral. Oil distribution, it seems, is like a virus. Somebody sneezes and everybody within hundreds of miles comes down with the flu. 
starting to venture forth in an effort to propagate. The hate filled rhetoric from the 
support behind state Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Eagle (pictured). He pointed specifically to the 2006 primary race as the reason for withdrawing. ”We don’t want a repeat of the 2006 congressional race where one candidate won the primary election with less than 26 percent of the votes,” said Chadwick. The Republican from Post Falls also had critical comments about Vaughn Ward, the Marine reservist seeking the GOP nomination. Chadwick made a myriad of accusations against Ward, calling him a neo-conservative, a stealth candidate, and said that Ward is too moderate for some Republicans, like former presidential candidate John McCain, R-Ariz. Chadwick even went so far as to claim that those around Ward embellished his accomplishments in the military and the Central Intelligence Agency/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. 
Police detectives interviewed Neil and Connie Bigelow after they returned to the Coeur d’Alene residence of their grandchildren this morning. Neil stated they took a drive to the Hayden Creek area, and his vehicle became high-centered in the snow near the top of road 206. Neil said it was near dark, and he was not sure how far they were from Coeur d’Alene. They decided to wait out the night in the vehicle. Connie Bigelow sang songs with the children and helped them draw pictures. At daybreak they were able to dig themselves out and drive back to Coeur d’Alene. Detectives reported the children are in good condition and happy to be home. 
details, but from what I’ve gathered there was no real drama. I heard the Aryan loon-goons only stuck around for about a half-hour of the four hour event, eventually leaving after being successfully heckled away by certain pleasingly obnoxious participants of the event. There seems to have been really no news in that regard, and I HOPE the stupid CDA Press continues to ignore the subject, rather than make a big deal out of nothing and give these morons the publicity they’re craving. The Race for Equality event itself, however, was an enormous success and that DOES deserve some publicity.
delays until work is completed in mid-June. Workers will be repairing freeway bridges over the Spokane River, Pleasant View Road and Spokane Street. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction today through May 3 from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. The reduced lanes will involve the entire 4.4-mile stretch between the river and Spokane Street. Starting on May 4, the lane closures will run all day and continue for about a month, said Barbara Babic, public involvement coordinator for the Idaho Transportation Department/Mike Prager, SR Getting There. 
bunny with area music shoppers. Store owners Terry and Deon Borchard have managed to survive and thrive in an era when both mom-and-pop record shops and massive chains like Tower Records are shuttering their doors for good faster than you can say “iTunes.” The Long Ear’s sizeable cult of regulars return time and time again for not only their impressively broad selection of new and used CDs and vinyl (along with an assortment of posters, incense and gifts), but for the royal treatment the Borchards and their knowledgeable staff have always given their customers. 
County Clerk Dan English in CdA Press guest opinion: We do not have “a bunch of illegal Canadians” voting in our elections. What we do have is a federal law that protects the voting rights of U.S. citizens living in other countries, whether they are military, missionaries, retirees, or whatever. By federal law, American citizens living abroad retain their voting rights, and their voter registration is tied to a specific place: city, county, state and nation. This law gives no time restrictions. We do not have multiple classes of voters in Idaho. If someone is a registered voter then they get to vote in any local election they are qualified for, not just the federal elections. 
adjacent to the Coeur d’Alene High parking lot (south of Coeur d’Alene Bible Church), waving two large red-white-and-blue flags with swastikas. A couple of women were holding signs with too much print to read on a drive by. But one close-cropped blond male had a sign that said: “If diversity wins, we all lose.” He waved. But I didn’t wave back. All in all, it wasn’t the type of think you’d want to see returning home from church. Or any other time in Coeur d’Alene. However, I wondered why they’d choose that location instead of one with higher traffic, like Sherman Avenue or Northwest Boulevard. Or somewhere near City Park. BTW, I did notice what happened to minorities and the world and Germany when Nazism won out for a decade of so. (AP File Photo)
“But Benewah County Sheriff Bob Kirts (pictured) has canceled the agreement, gutting tribal officers’ authority in areas ranging from boating infractions to domestic violence on the reservation, where six out of seven residents are nonmembers. It shouldn’t take the Legislature to solve this. It shouldn’t take mediators and arbitrators. It should take nothing more than the same kind of goodwill and respect for public safety that has worked well between the tribe and Kootenai County. As the minutes from that March 17 legislative committee meeting so hopefully put it, ‘Bringing the parties together was in everyone’s interest.’ Someone tell that to the Benewah County commissioners.” 
government job is not a real job. Well. I guess, then, no
one in Ward’s family has a real job, preferring to feed at the
government trough, while dissing it. Talk about biting the hand that
feeds it. Also, given that our military is now all volunteer and the
troops work for pay, those are government jobs. Not real ones, though.
Please, Vaughn, keep telling our troops that they don’t have real jobs.
Police? Not a real job? Firefighters? Not real? Coast Guard rescue
swimmers who will drop from a helicopter into an icy and stormy sea to
rescue a fisherman? Not real? The helicopter pilot who fights to keep
the aircraft aloft in a storm to help the rescue? What a bunch of
pussies, the lot of them/IdaBlue. 
Labrador is a true Idahoan with experience in the Legislature, but his
campaign is lacking. No one has heard anything from his camp in weeks;
his twitter and facebook have been close to silent. I don’t call that
gaining on Ward. Rather, I think Ward’s crappy candidacy is starting to
show through and that people are starting to figure out who this guy really is.
adult helper on a survival camp for kids, we found this
grub whilst doing a bit of science work on a rotten tree, and I made the
mistake of telling the kids (14 year olds) that the grub was edible …
go on miss go on miss prove it lmfao … so I did … the street cred I got
around the school the following week was worth the ‘hiding behind a
bush and lobbing me guts up’ LOL. Now, if only I had had a jar of marmite on me and not back at camp in
me tent, then I would of sat and feasted on the grubs all afternoon lmao
plus items that are on the list of things that are going to
be dropped. But, the patrons of the district in their wisdom have
decided that they don’t want to dig into their pocket books. I don’t
agree with that decision, but we have a democracy, district patrons
voted not to support all of the programs that they had last year and
IMHO “stuff” happens once in a while. As a result of that decision,
something had to be cut and the school board decided (with input from a
lot of district patrons) that the pain should be shared. Cuts were made
to academics, administration AND sports. That $50,000 cut to the
sports that you mentioned just happens to be about the price of one more
teacher or the cost of new text books for this year’s rotation which
also were cut. Am I to assume that you would cut another teacher or
other academic “frill” like books to keep those sports you mentioned?
the nation’s toughest
legislation against illegal immigration Friday, a measure that
supporters said would take handcuffs off police but which opponents
said could violate people’s civil rights. Among the bill’s proponents is Sen. Mike Jorgenson, who has
worked with the bill’s sponsor, Arizona Sen. Russell Pearce, on
immigration legislation for Idaho. The Hayden Lake Republican has unsuccessfully pitched local
immigration legislation but said Arizona’s law could create enough
momentum to push those proposals through next year/Tom Hasslinger, Coeur d’Alene Press. 
General Hospital. The 12 people who pitched in 10 bucks apiece as part of a co-op ticket heard Thusday morning that their Idaho Powerball ticket was a prizewinner. It was not the jackpot, the pie-in-the-sky utopia of shining tickets, but it worked, said Dave Flatt, one of the Sandpoint ticket holders. “I’m a little richer,” Flatt said. He was chosen as spokesperson for the group of hospital workers who each won $11,200 after taxes, he said. Many of the winners did not want to be identified/Ralph Bartholdt, Bonner County Bee. 
Chooses Life (ICL), a pro-life group, has thrown its support to state Rep. Raul Labrador in the Republican primary election for Idaho’s 1st Congressional District. Labrador is facing Vaughn Ward, a Marine reservist, for the right to face Democrat incumbent Walt Minnick in the general election in November. The primary will be held on May 25. ICL chose Labrador because of his work on the Idaho Health Freedom Act, a bill passed into law during the 2010 legislative session, which gave Idaho the right to sue the federal government over recent federal health care reforms/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. 
At the Coeur d’Alene Press, reporter Tom Hasslinger began a story re: the forum for GOP coroner candidates with this line: “A nurse, a doctor, a law enforcement officer, dead people and Republicans. Quite a mesh Thursday afternoon.” As a former City Hall beat reporter, I know how tough it is at times to come up with an interesting lead particularly for a tough subject as a coroner’s candidacy debate. How do you think Tom did? 
(leader of an ill-fated trip to rescue orphans after the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti) still has many supporters who want her to come home soon. They are organizing a rally for 12:30 p.m. Saturday on the south side of the state capitol. Silsby, 40, was one of 10 Americans who were arrested Jan. 29 and jailed in Port-Au-Prince on child kidnapping charges. The group included members of two Idaho churches and two men from Texas and Kansas. They were busing a group of Haitian children to the Dominican Republic and were stopped at the border. Nine of the detained Americans were released, while Silsby was held for further questioning/Katy Moeller, Idaho Statesman. 
1971. Actions on that date impacted three generations of my family. When Larry Oleson and his friend, Rod Hart, were killed in an alcohol-related crash on East Sherman Avenue about 10:30 p.m., life as I knew it was changed forever. The driver survived. Larry was 22, a Vietnam combat vet with a Purple Heart, and a student at NIJC. We had found out just three days before that a baby was on the way. By the end of the day on April 23, 1971, Larry was dead. On April 23, 2010, I can’t help but walk down that path of wondering what could have been in the thirty-nine years since. Our daughter, Melani will turn 39 in November and our grandson, Jared turned 13 this past December. Neither ever knew their father/grandfather. A lifetime lost/Kerri Thoreson, More Main Street. 
the reputation of the author of the 1960 mega-bestseller “The I Hate to Cook Book” is still rising. But not just in the culinary world. Bracken, who was born in Filer 92 years ago, is hailed as a groundbreaking feminist. “Although Peg Bracken did not suggest that husbands take over the family meals, she certainly did not urge women to ‘be pretty, be cheerful and be a good cook,’” wrote Jessamyn Neuhaus in “Manly Meals and Mom’s Home Cooking,” a history of gender and cooking in America. “Indeed, she satirized and openly scoffed at that ideal, perpetuated in other cookbooks.” Bracken had little patience with the elaborate cookbooks/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. 
from using a jar of the spread in a party broadcast. Unilever said it had not given the BNP permission to use its product and was looking into taking out an injunction. The BNP’s online broadcast was removed from its website, but it can still be seen on video hosting website YouTube. The party initially said the clip was a spoof, but then claimed it had not been responsible for adding the Marmite jar/BBC. 
school, discovered a unique way to get kids active. Think Robin Hood and William Tell. That’s right; Phillips introduced archery to his fifth- and sixth-grade students. He’d heard about the National Archery in the Schools Program and was intrigued. “Archery is one of those things that every single kid can participate in,” said Phillips. … Students enthusiastically embraced the program and Phillips soon formed an after-school archery team. On March 20, the Evergreen Mustangs won first place in the elementary division in the statewide competition/Cindy Hval, Washington Voices. 
in the military has been mistreated.
The issue? Two flags flying high above the Veterans memorial plaque and
one of them has gotten local vets steamed. …“I have a huge passion for the American flag,” veteran Casey
Duncan said. “When I signed up for the Army I wrote a blank check saying that I
would defend that flag.”
Local veterans informed the City of Kellogg that flying the “Tree City,
USA” flag with the American flag was in violation of U.S. Code, Title 36,
Chapter 10. The city however says the two flags have flown together for at least
13 years/Tania Dall, KXLY. 
each other. At night, everybody goes downtown to socialize, play sports, and play music. There were mariachi bands everywhere, playing happy music and providing a relaxing, pleasant atmosphere. Now that we’re home, I watch couples at coffee shops sit and stare at their laptops. I see groups of kids after school all sitting around staring at their cell phones. In the grocery store, everybody is walking around talking on their bluetooth. It kinda seems the more “connected” we are, the less we have to do with each other.
it does matter where Vaughn Ward’s wife works. It is not the campaign issue. But it is a campaign issue. Ward opened the door. The 1st District congressional candidate tried to hone his conservative chops by railing about federal government bailouts. All the while, Kirsten Ward supported the family — bankrolling Vaughn Ward’s full-time campaigning — by working for bailed-out lender Fannie Mae. Having consciously decided to keep that salient detail from voters, Ward’s response has been defensive and utterly predictable. Blame the messenger, Statesman reporter Dan Popkey. I don’t buy it/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. 
season after being drafted by the San Francisco 49ers with the 17th pick in the NFL draft Thursday. Iupati, who was at home in California with his family, said he knew moments before the nationally televised announcement that his name would be next. “Right when I got the call, I was so excited,” said Iupati, who looked the part during ESPN coverage of the draft that showed him awaiting the announcement then hugging his parents and other family members. “It was very emotional.” It marked the end of a long day for Iupati, who said his Mom woke him at 6:30 a.m. to make sure everything was in order for the arrival of the television crews and a house full of company/Moscow-Pullman Daily News. 
condition. If that choice is marijuana, they should be allowed to legally obtain and use it. Rep. Tom Trail, R-Moscow, recently announced plans to introduce medical marijuana legislation during next year’s session, provided he’s re-elected to an eighth term in November. We applaud Trail’s efforts, but doubt any bill promoting the legitimate medical use of marijuana will go far in a statehouse dominated by regressive leaders who’d rather challenge the federal government’s authority to reform health care than enhance the medical options for the state’s patients. That’s a shame, especially when you consider the potentially dangerous alternatives Idahoans have in trying to control their pain/Doug Bauer, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. 
mature young adult who deserves the accolades and should be a standard bearer for what it means to be a respectful college athlete that kids can look up to. But also tonight, the Vandal athletics department showed up petty and unprofessional they can be by denying an interview with coach Robb Akey to Vandal Nation, the blog run by Travis Mason-Bushman, a University of Idaho Argonaut reporter who also happens to have nearly 5,000 (you read that right) people following his coverage of all things Vandal Sports at any given time. 
HBO. I have tried following you over there, and that’s not working for me either. (that’s probably just me, though. I can see where others may like it.) I just felt the need to tell you that I liked HBO more when you used your limited time to generate content from local sources… The old content didn’t seem like you were stretching tweets for mariginal content just to promote the new twitter endeavor. I guess I am trying to say, I prefer quality of old HBO over what appears to be a focus on tweets and quantity.
funding athletics and assorted activities, I wish school district officials from Brewster to Bonners Ferry would use more common sense. Take for example Kellogg, which is located about 30 miles east of Coeur d’Alene. A levy to maintain funding for athletics failed last month. So the Kellogg School District has decided to cut about half its sports so it can save – brace yourselves for this – one-half of 1 percent of its total budget. Or roughly $50,000. Kellogg is eliminating wrestling, baseball, softball, girls soccer, cross country and cheerleading next year. In the big picture, they’re saving pennies/Greg Lee, SR. 
Deanna Goodlander: It looks like the Parks Department has figured out a way to save the statue. It will take some rebar and a lot of work, but they are pretty sure it is repairable. There will always show some damage, but the Parks folks are darn good at repairs. They do a great job of keeping those wooden statues in good repair all over town. Hopefully the neighbors will keep an eye on what it going on around the Bryan Bear. Citizens are the best protection for our public art and keeping the vandals from winning.
campaign for Congress. But one of the top recipients of federal bailout money puts food on the table in Ward’s household. His wife, Kirsten, 35, is a technology project manager for Washington, D.C.-based Fannie Mae. Ward, 41, has been campaigning since March 2009, while his wife supports him and their two children, Ave and William. “We’re set up financially where I don’t have to work for money,” Ward told the Idaho Statesman last year. “Instead, I can work on a campaign.” Fannie Mae was spared bankruptcy by federal bailouts. It has received $76 billion since being taken over by the Federal Housing Financing Agency in 2008. Taxpayers are on the hook for an additional $125 billion, according to Fannie Mae/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. 
televised debate May 16 has prompted a gambit from Crapo’s likely Democratic opponent in November. Tom Sullivan says he’ll be glad to debate Republican Claude “Skip” Davis. “I can certainly understand why incumbent Mike Crapo doesn’t want to come back to Idaho and have an honest discussion about the issues facing Idaho right now,” Sullivan said in a news release Thursday. “If I’d botched the economy the way he has, I wouldn’t be anxious to face the voters either. But I’ll tell you right now, I’m here and I’m ready and if Skip wants to talk let’s do it”/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. 
different world than the sadder parts of Idaho, however it’s ignorant to think that 18 year old football fans wouldn’t be immature enough to choose a school based on the football team. Who knows how often this happens now that there is constant national exposure, a full decade of dominance, and the unique blue field on which to watch the beatdowns. I hope coach pete is the new face of idaho, as opposed to the bathroom toe-tapper, or to be fair, the bsu cheerleaders exposed to the world at the last fiesta bowl. 
At MountainGoat Report, the blogmistress is enjoying the alignment of the stars that placed the old “Republicans for Walt Minnick” Web site into the hands of someone who offers Russian women and “
heel”. I stand by my comments. It’s a ticking time-bomb, unless he deals with it soon. Why so quiet? People want to know. Come forward and let us know, Raul. Apparently, my two observations meant a great deal to one candidate and very little to the other. So, it got me thinking … some more. What if this were a job interview? How would I handle responses/non responses by both candidates? Well … it IS a job interview and I DO think that certain questions are key. So, I have proposed some additional questions/Dennis Mansfield. 
Stickman’s comments make me realize how the recession has (at least temporarily saved Sandpoint. The “Fancy Dancers” were just starting to take over town when the recession hit. Now one can drive by mothballed developments, half built marinas and a 15 hole golf course knowing those people won’t be here for a few more years. It’s been refreshing to go out on the town these days- say to a movie or a concert at the Panida and see people you know and people dressed north Idaho style instead of the fancy dancers.
John Bradbury of Idaho/Clearwater counties offered good answers to the five questions that I asked him turning a half-hour interview this morning. Here’s the answer he gave to my question re: the worst court decision of the last five years: “It’s the school funding case. Over 18 years of litigation, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that thorough education required by the Constitution means the state has to adequately fund education. Once they made that decision and came time to send decision back to the trial judge to enforce it, the Supreme Court refused to send it back and wouldn’t give a reason. So the lawyers moved for a hearing and the justices had the clerk of the Supreme Court call the lawyers into the basement of the Supreme Court and tell them orally and without any record that the case was over. So today we have no explanation by the highest court in the state why it declined to have the trial judge enforce the court’s decision.” 
remains jailed without bail, now accused of conspiring to kill the prosecution’s key witnesses, including a Post Falls couple who testified against him. Kelly J. Polatis (pictured), who worked with the company still fighting Kootenai County’s rejection of the proposed Chateau de Loire lakeside development, waived extradition Wednesday to Utah, where he’s been charged in U.S. District Court with using interstate commerce for the commission of murder for hire. He’s also suspected of plotting to kill a federal prosecutor. Polatis, 40, was charged through a sealed complaint filed Friday, the same day a federal jury acquitted him of marijuana charges that carried a five-year minimum prison term/Meghann M. Cuniff, SR. 
assured he will be drafted in the first round, but just where he’ll end up is anyone’s guess. Iupati will be watching the draft live on ESPN today at 4:30 p.m. in California and waiting for his name to be called by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell with his family and an ESPN film crew. “I’m just excited. I can’t wait to find out where I’m going, put on the pads and start playing,” Iupati said in a news release issued by the UI. It could be a quick night. The latest rumors have Iupati coming off the board at No. 8 to the Oakland Raiders. ESPN’s Michael Smith tweeted, “The Mike Iupati to Oakland @ #8 talk is picking up steam. Two league sources who know the Raiders well tell me that’s who they’re targeting”/Devin Roykyta, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. 
stirred up Boise. Quoth: 
when no one is around. This time of year, they all come out of the woodwork and want to look good. I call them ‘fancy dancers’, it’s all for show and how much they have. This town has become a rich man’s environment and will continue to do so. I doubt many locals like this time of year. I sure don’t. Many say growth is progress, but I strongly disagree. I will take the Coeur d’ Alene of the late 80’s and early 90’s over what we have today. Of course it was a depressed town and people were struggling, but what we have today is far different from what I envisioned when I first moved here. I still love it here and always will, but I surely don’t like where it’s heading.
deputization agreement reached with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe that was presented to the Idaho House Judiciary and Rules Committee in March. Instead, earlier this week, county officials sent the Tribe a signed copy of a new version of a cross deputization agreement that contained more than 50 changes to the original and revived disagreements over key provisions that had already been settled in prior discussions. Repeated requests by the Tribe to be informed of any proposed changes were ignored by the county. “I am extremely disappointed with this new document in front of me,” Coeur d’Alene Tribe Chairman Chief Allan said. “It is not what we agreed to”/Spokesman Marc Stewart, Coeur d’Alene Indian Tribe. 
represents the best (or worst) of far-right, anti-government politics. He demands that President Obama produce his birth certificate, and professes “an intense burning desire to destroy all the works of those Progressive Liberal Politicians in Washington D.C. whom I brand as vile domestic enemies to the country,” He has also apparently adapted as his campaign slogan: “Harley D. Brown — A real man for Congress.” Described as a “perennial” candidate by The Idaho Statesmen, Brown ran for mayor of Boise in 2001, and managed to scrape together 2.88% of the vote — 964 votes total/TPM (Talking Points Memo). 
Councilman MikeK: True story - my uncle Raymond Duke had a small and occasionally recurring role on the TV series “Quincy” with Jack Klugman. Everything I need to know about autopsies I learned from Klugman and Dick Van Dyke. So I’ve got that going for me.
about your Aryan Pride tattoos, asked reporter Sally
Showman. His response? “I know its ties and what other people assume it means
… In California it doesn’t have that meaning … I looked it up in the
dictionary and it said ‘nomadic tribesman’ and it applied to my nomadic
lifestyle with my wife Connie.” Right, and “Kill Whitey” just refers to a
disdain for former Kansas City Royals manager Whitey Herzog. Tankovich says he
intends to get the tattoo removed. “I started regretting this tattoo,” he said.
“I thought ‘Wow, I better get this removed’”/Joel Smith,
Pacific Northwest Inlander. 
Cabbage Boy: I went to a one room country school back in elementary. We had a simple kitchen we were allowed to use. But we didn’t have indoor plumbing for the first four years. The outdoor biffy was great for the boys, it meant a trip outdoors. I don’t think the girls used theirs during the winter months.
Heck, a group of retired military officers recently labeled cafeteria fare a national security threat because it’s making young adults too fat to enlist. Those veterans have probably forgotten what they were served at school. I came across some of my old school lunch menus while cleaning out a closet recently: Biscuits and gravy, chile gravy, prune bread sandwiches, buttered rice cup, chipped beef on toast, creamed salmon on roll, egg sandwiches, custard, dates stuffed with peanut butter, cream cheese sandwiches. Of course, most of us look the way we do today because of Golden and Nephi Grigg, who invented the Tater Tot in 1953/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. 
why state Rep. Joe Palmer, R-Meridian, 
Blogger Cindy of 
is unusual for us to use this space to praise one of our competitors. When it comes to open government, though, the media should be allies. And we’re glad to have Betsy Russell on our side. The Spokane Spokesman-Review Statehouse reporter is a passionate, proven - and persuasive - advocate for the public’s right to know. Idaho has a better open meetings law, one that’s more enforceable and more clear for local agencies, thanks in part to Russell’s work as longtime president of the Idaho Press Club/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. 
personal bias in their tweets. (Judy Woodruff/PBS “News Hour with Jim Lehrer,” pictured) said she has a Twitter account, but admitted she is still learning how to tweet. “(The) News Hour feels (Twitter) is something important, frankly, to bring attention to what we are doing,” she said. Woodruff said other media networks also are using social media. Pintak cited the New York Times reporter who tweeted “Toyota sucks” and asked the journalists if they thought that was right to do. Fields said sometimes people forget that Twitter, Facebook, and e-mails are publications. She said she personally doesn’t have a Twitter account. “Maybe I’m behind the times, but I don’t like that,” she said. Still, she said, ProPublica does blog often/Yesenia Amaro, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. 
I’m also certain that few of the complainers will take into consideration that his effort and the effort of his coaches to make BSU the premier football program that it is HAS indeed translated into dollars into many more dollars within our state’s economy. The PR on behalf of Idaho is amazing. Just two decades ago, Idaho had a skin-head-close brush with infamy. Now, Idaho is a destination haven for college kids, their parents and businesses that know success when they see it. All because of Coach Pete? C’mon … please. The fact IS that Coach Pete’s image represents a “new” Idaho … and his smiling, positive face is more recognizable across the US than is our Governor’s mug … or our Senators’ mugs … or, well you get the idea/Dennis Mansfield. 
I have a ‘virgin craps’ story - I had the dice for 45 minutes in the Casino Royale. My friend bought in for $100 and I bought in for $40. He cashed out at $777 (YES) and I cashed out at $120.00 I haven’t played craps since - that was my one time but it was such a rush! Everyone was making money the beers kept coming - all our other friends were waiting for us at dinner, but when we called and said we were winning they understood. I know it was only $80 for me, but the excitement was worth more. I bet all the safe bets - my friend bet all the exotic stuff that I couldn’t even keep up with.
It’s all about reading the labels and looking at the sodium content. Whether it’s pork and beans, chili, V-8 juice or even in that fake-seafood in the meat cooler, sodium is everywhere. The salt’s the thing that allows a can of, say, tomato paste to sit on the shelf for weeks before someone buys it. I don’t know if Salt Kills, but there’s probably more of it in the food you eat than you realize.
Speaking of right on schedule: “(CNN) - House Republican candidates will be encouraged, but not forced, to sign on to the policy blueprint being crafted by GOP leaders for the midterm elections that’s being compared to the 1994 “Contract with America.” I propose a naming contest. What will the 2010 CwA be called? I’ll by a beer to the entry closest to the actual winner and the funniest.
Rep. Joe Palmer, R-Meridian (pictured), who had been invited to an Editorial Board interview: “Joe is extremely busy running several companies and doesn’t have time to meet with media. He apologizes and appreciates your willingness to post his answers to the questionnaire. Though he doesn’t often meet with media, he always makes time for his constituents.” That’s his prerogative, and with more than 30 contested races in May, it’s not like we’re hurting for candidates to interview. I just don’t understand the distinction between making time for constituents and making time for constituents who can listen to an interview, unedited. Sounds like a copout/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. 
have gone to town about 3 times in the past 3 days … and I got to ask, did someone let the tourist loose … if not where did all these people come from? Now only that, but I think all the Sunday drivers are out as well … We followed one guy whose head was like a swivel. He was looking everywhere but in front of him. And in order to do this well, I guess, he had to be a slow driver as well. We were doing 30 in a 45 mph zone. Then there was the guy who has watched too much NASCAR races, as when we were getting to the slower part, he started to swerve back and forth across the yellow lines. Enough where we were debating on his sobriety/Cis, From A Simple Mind. 
one point an older guy posted up at the end of the table with two of his friends. He started playing stacks of $500 chips. I was rolling at the time and I kept hitting numbers for him. I don’t know how much I really made him, but my dad and I guessed anywhere from $25,000 to maybe $50,000. He grabbed his chips and walked away from the table the second my roll ended (I’m guessing 20-30 minutes after it started). As he walked by, he gave me a “thank you” nod and kept walking (I thought he might give me a little something for the effort, but he didn’t). That’s when one of the workers told me who he was. It was Celine Dion’s husband Rene Angelil (pictured)/Tim Lewis, KREM2. 
some of his 15 minutes of fame. In a “Meet your candidates” section, the DC gossip blog shows a mug shot of 76YO Brown, along with one of his mottos: “Nuke their ass, take their gas.” Then, Wonkette posts a link to Brown’s material and this comment: “GAH! So. Can we safely assume that Harley D. Brown, this thick anger-monster running for Congress in Idaho, is familiar with the one and only 
don’t mind getting called for jury duty. But I do mind serving on a jury, at least at this point in my life, when I’m so busy. That’s why I was delighted over the weekend when I checked in with the recording to Bailiff Peter Barnes’ photo and learned that my panel had been dismissed for the next two weeks. And that I wouldn’t be called again for jury duty for two years. In fact, I raised my arms in the air as though I were a football official signaling a touchdown. Does this kind of reaction make me a bad person? I wouldn’t mind serving on jury duty, once I retire. In fact, I’ll have all the time in the world to do just that.
things happen to us we aren’t shocked, and we don’t live each day expecting a perfect outcome. It isn’t a surprise that car accidents happen, so we are ready in case it happens to us. Tires go flat, so we are prepared to fix that. Fires too, but if you have a fire extinguisher you’re ready for that. Everyone gets rained on, but it’s your own fault if you get wet. And banks fail, even the ones we have our own money in (as I found out myself this weekend). A little cash tucked away ensures a much easier outcome. Being prepared is not a crime, or paranoid, it is simply common sense/BillH, Free In Idaho! 
Idaho, according to AARP.org, 56 percent of the population is 50 or older. Of that group, 37% identify themselves as Independents, 29% as Republicans, and 17% as Democrats. In other findings, 60% of the 50-and-older crowd said they always vote, 23% that they vote most of the time, and 6% sometimes. Also, 53% of the 50-and-older population say they lean conservative, 26% moderate, and only 8% liberal. 
weekly newspaper and then went on to Middle Tennessee State University in 1982. At another newspaper, I hired Foster as a reporter. He was a bulldog. When he bit into a story, particularly one that had a whiff of impropriety or governmental ineptitude, he wouldn’t let go. Still won’t. ”I think David-versus-Goliath stories give us a niche that will help newspapers survive,” Foster explained as he thought about being the editor of a small newspaper that had just won a Pulitzer Prize. ”It’s not the easiest or sexiest kind of story, to write about mineral rights. Doing this story required heavy lifting and intellect. But it was unanimous in our community that this was the sort of work we should be doing”/Chris Peck, Memphis (Tenn.) Commercial Appeal. 
million if the State Board of Education approves the deal Thursday. Boise State announced the new contract Jan. 1 at the Fiesta Bowl, but didn’t release details. The specifics were included Monday in the agenda for the State Board’s meeting this week in Moscow. Petersen also will receive one-year extensions, at $50,000 more than the last existing contract year, each time the Broncos win eight regular-season games. The Broncos have done that for 11 straight seasons. .. Petersen will make $1,289,053 in salary in 2010/Chadd Cripe, Idaho Statesman. 
than $167,000, and legal experts say the murder trial could total several million dollars by the time it’s completed. Since January 2009, the Riverside County district attorney’s office has been prosecuting Duncan, who has already been sentenced to death for murders in Idaho, in the 1997 killing, torture and sexual assault of 10-year-old Anthony Martinez of Beaumont. The district attorney extradited Duncan, 47, to face murder charges in Indio for Anthony’s death after Duncan was convicted of murdering a family of four in Idaho. He was sentenced by an Idaho federal and state court to three death sentences and nine life terms/John Asbury, Press Tribune. 
Yesterday I went to the library to print some pictures for a class. I was in a hurry because I had the class in 20 minutes, so I wasn’t paying close attention, but when I looked up the guy diagonal from me was spitting his chew in a Dr. Pepper bottle. Say whatever you want, but that is disgusting, and my instant reaction was to gag. The sad part is he was cute until I saw him do that/Elizabeth Rudd, FrontRow Editor. 
trade packages. He’s also ruled out taking earmarks. And embracing a conservative Democrat gives the Tea Party at least the ability to claim it’s not shilling for the Republican Party. Minnick didn’t seek the Tea Party endorsement. He completed no candidate questionnaire obligating him to the party’s positions. Neither did he distance himself from an organization the New York Times/CBS News poll found to be largely Republican, white, male, middle-aged and angry. He could have welcomed the support of individual Tea Party members while reminding everyone that he is the Idaho Democratic Party candidate for Congress. He didn’t/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
North Idaho senator’s initial attempt to get his primary challenger tossed off the ballot has failed, but Sen. Mike Jorgenson says he’s not giving up. Jorgenson, R-Hayden, last week filed a complaint with the Idaho Secretary of State’s office saying that his GOP challenger, Steven Vick of Dalton Gardens, isn’t qualified for the ballot because of a 2006 voter-registration glitch. Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa said today that Vick meets registration requirements to run; Jorgenson now plans to take his complaint to court. You can read my 
When the girls began swooning at his feet, I knew my son had found a special talent as a public speaker. But then I realized it was just one girl. And she had passed out from the heat in the small, cramped room where kids were presenting their science fair projects. My son never skipped a beat. Nevermind there was a person laying at his feet, and several adults rushing to her aid. No, he just kept reading his speech, oblivious to the world around him. He was locked in, focused, trying to get through the torture of having to stand in front of a crowd and speak to them. Fainting girls aside, he did okay/Idaho Dad, A Family Runs Through It. 
security guards or anything else, just as it’s always been. Truly designed to be the ‘People’s House’, the building is just that, as inviting as it is beautiful. Just walk right in and lose yourself in the past. The photos of dead lawmakers posted on every wall insure that. They are the time capsuls of our state history, but also I must say the ghosts of lost opportunity. As great as Idaho is, we have these folks (with some notable exceptions) to blame for our crumbling highways and schools. My guess is that if the grand old building had her way, their photos would be turned inward to the marble walls instead of outward to us.
As I mentioned in the lead-in to the Wild Card, I spent the weekend in the Portland area, where I spent time with my daughter, who’s a public relations specialist, and my son and his wife. Junior (pictured) is headed from the UColorado medical school at Denver to University of Florida at Gainesville this summer to begin a medical residency. So I’ll have one kid 6 hours away and the other as far away across the country as you can get. Which saddens me, as I sit here and think about it. Of course, with today’s jets, Skype, and the Internet, no one is really that far away. However, I get a little miffed when I hear people complain that there’s too much family around them. How about you?
abandonment of state government news. I spent 18 years in journalism and can safely say some in the mainstream media have given up on daily coverage of the government. The AP’s story contained typical laments from the press and academia about whether an organization, which advocates a conservative position, can run a new outlet and whether the news will be biased, either in the presentation of stories or in the story selection. Over at the Missoulian, an editor sums up the hysteria with a critique that describes IdahoReporter.com and similar news operations as “agenda-driven.” Pot, meet kettle/Wayne Hoffman, Idaho Freedom Foundation. 
the candidate I support was very incriminating and was being told to me as fact. Mr. Spencer, who has had issues in the past with exaggerated opinions, states that he is running Ms. Nelson’s campaign. If that is so, it is a campaign that is turning to innuendos, insults and in my opinion, downright slanderous comments being made about one of the other candidates without any verification or validation. I am not referencing differing political views, which is a healthy way to campaign, but remarks that cause defamation of character”/Conda Mitchell, Coeur d’Alene Press letters to the editor. 
will talk about the deep pockets. Ironically, while Hoffman regularly blasts government for a lack of transparency and frequently 
Alternative question: How many Idahoans north of Moscow realize there is another Pinehurst in Idaho, between Riggins and New Meadows? I actually had no idea there was a Pinehurst in Shoshone County until a couple of years ago, and I can’t help but consider the Pinehurst south of Riggins the REAL Pinehurst…. ;)
latest mass-marketed epicurean trends, and their servers may not be required to wear flare on their uniforms while singing you “Happy Birthday”. Instead, they serve a broad variety of freshly made, old-fashioned classics that are guaranteed to have more heart and soul than anything found at any of the big city behemoths. The Tall Pine seems to be Pinehurst’s central gathering place as well, and there isn’t really much room to gather in. Although I arrived mid-afternoon on a weekday, a quick glimpse into the tiny dining are revealed the crowd to be elbow-to-elbow. I need some room to swing my elbows around when I eat, so I decided to utilize the clever walk-up window, a restaurant feature that’s all but vanished into the mists of time/Patrick Jacobs, Get Out! North Idaho. 
behind the scenes at the Idaho Capitol to sway lawmakers on everything from health care reform to government funding of political parties. Wayne Hoffman organized the Idaho Freedom Foundation about a year ago, a think-tank affiliated with a national limited-government group. Last year, Hoffman barraged local governments across the state with public records requests, seeking everything from mayors’ salaries to city council spending on office Christmas parties. The results are now posted on his Web site. As a nonprofit education and research organization, however, Hoffman’s group is forbidden by the Internal Revenue Service from “attempting to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities”/John Miller, AP. 
Martinson: Seems like my beloved Cougs are irrelevant in NCAA football these
days. Other than the fact that everyone can mark up their Coug game as a
win. Maybe CdA HS or LC HS could beat up on the Cougs these days. No, I don’t get tired of the Coug jokes. I change the names and make
it all about the UW dirtyfilthystinkingdogs. When, pray tell, can we get Robb Akey back in Pullman where he
belongs? Or maybe Mike Price.
recipient of the 2010 Max Dalton Open Government Award
sponsored by the Idaho Newspaper Foundation. Russell earned the award and accompanying cash prize of $1,000 for
her years of work advancing the cause of open government in Idaho
through her work with a variety of press, citizen and court groups. The Max Dalton Open Government Award has been given each year
since 1999 to a citizen or group judged to be an outspoken advocate of
openness in either public records or public meetings on the state or
local level. Russell has been president of the Idaho Press Club on and off
since
1997 and chair of Idahoans for Openness in Government (IDOG) since its
founding in 2004. She also serves on the Idaho Supreme Court’s
Media/Courts Committee/Betsy Russell, Idaho Newspaper Foundation. 
new University of Idaho study. Conducted by UI economist Steven Peterson, the study was
commissioned by the Nez Perce, Coeur d’Alene, Kootenai, Shoshone-Bannock
and Shoshone Paiute tribes and looked at numbers from 2009. It found that tribal business activities in gaming, retail,
agriculture, natural resources and other areas have increased total
employment statewide by 10,516 jobs, generated $852.7 million in annual
sales, and raised the gross state product by $487.3 million/Joel Mills, Lewiston Tribune. 
Hey DFO maybe you can make a new post about the e
Utilities President Dennis Vermillion is pasted below in its entirety.
The e-mail is a notification of our recent rates filings and directions
where customers can learn more about the details of those requests. Last year, we sent many customer conversation
e-mails. They happened to coincide with three requests to lower natural
gas rates throughout the year in Washington and Idaho. We received many
thank you replies, but also many notes that asked us to continue sending
informational e-mails when requests go the other direction. This e-mail
recognizes that. I, along with another co-worker, personally
responded to anyone who replied to those e-mails – we’ll continue that
practice as long as you continue to e-mail us back and find value in it/Dan_At_Avista. 
This is not sourgrapes per se … it isn’t the process so much either … IT IS PERSONAL … it has been since Mike ran the first time … he has had a target set on him since he started the first run … and the group is mad because he got past the residence bit … even though it was very legal … so they have harrassed him from the side lines since then … constantly … then he ran again … And if the process was perfect, they would have found something to use to have what you have today. The fact that 5 votes defined this election fell into their laps, was a wonder.
endorsement, even though his campaign is concerned about the optics. Rep. Walt Minnick (D-Idaho) received the official electoral backing of the Tea Party Express (the largest group affiliated with the broader movement) on Thursday. The announcement was entirely unexpected for the Idaho Democrat — the lone Democrat to get an endorsement nod from the group. “It was a complete surprise,” said John Foster, a spokesman for the Congressman. And while Minnick is fine with the endorsement - “Um, sure,” Foster replied when asked if the campaign was accepting the Tea Party’s backing. “Walt is not in the habit of turning down support.” The congressman is cognizant of the reception it could receive among the broader Democratic community/Huffington Post. 
Secretary of State’s office is wrong when it says that any fund-raising to aid Jim Brannon’s election challenge is subject to campaign finance laws. Kelso was responding to a letter from Timothy A. Hurst, chief deputy of the Secretary of State’s office. Hurst had written to City Attorney Mike Gridley in response to this question: “Are expenditures by a candidate incurred as part of a post-eletion lawsuit challenging or upholding the election results valid campaign expenditures under Idaho Code title 67, Chapter 66.” Hurst answered in a word “yes.” And then elaborated 
Republican, white, male and married, and their strong opposition to the Obama administration is more rooted in political ideology than anxiety about their personal economic situation, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll. The 18 percent of Americans who identify themselves as tea-party supporters look like Republicans in many ways, but they hold more conservative views on a range of issues and tend to be older than Republicans generally. They also are more likely than Republicans as a whole to describe themselves as “very conservative” and President Obama as “very liberal”/Kate Zernike & Megan Thee-Brenan, New York Times. 
Whopper he says a worker spit on. Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy Edward Bylsma says in the lawsuit that he stopped for a meal at a Vancouver, Wash., Burger King early one morning in March 2009 and got an “uneasy feeling” about two of its workers. When he checked his hamburger, the suit says, he found a big gob of spit. DNA testing matched the saliva to one of the workers, who eventually pleaded guilty to assault. The federal court suit filed Tuesday in Portland seeks at least $75,000 and names Burger King Corp. and franchise operator Kaizen Restaurants in Beaverton/KREM2. 
Brent Andrews: My pizza delivery gig for this Great Recession pays about $15 an hour with tips - sometimes up to $30/hr. - not bad work, either, ‘specially if you don’t mind mopping the store and doing a few dishes. You probably don’t mind that. U might check around. For me pizza delivery has been a recession-buster. I went into it on Dave Ramsey’s radio advice - he’s always telling people to deliver pizzas, on his show - and so far it has been a God-send.
my two oldest sons were little they were afraid of monsters under the bed. So I made up a song, and each night when I tucked them in we sang, “There are no monsters under your bed, under your bed, under your bed. There are no monsters under your bed; they’re only in your head.” It worked well for the boys, however every grown-up knows there comes a time when we must face the darkness beneath our beds. What lurks there may not be hairy wart-covered trolls, or that creepy Burger King mascot with the abnormally large head, but dust bunnies can be pretty frightening/Cindy Hval, Washington Voices. 
Achilles heel — Raul Labrador: My call is that Raul’s years of service in the Legislature will be singled down to one thing: attendance. We’re seeing that now. (As if former-Legislator Mark Snodgrass REALLY cares about Raul’s absences…). Big news. Yawn….Legislators are gone all the time. Since someone used his name, they ought to check the late Jerry Thorne’s absence record…and the names of those who he asked to serve in his place.
Achilles heel — Vaughn Ward: I believe his Achilles Heel may be a public investigation of his personal finances. Something tells me that his ability to run a full year for US Congress, without pay, is too odd an occurrence for a relatively young man, whose net worth and financial holdings have not had time to mature…unless I missed something in his FEC Reports. I could be wrong/Dennis Mansfield. 
Amarillo, Texas. In addition to probation, he was fined $20,000. He told reporters after his sentencing that he is ready to turn a new leaf. And he wants to rebuild his relationship with Washington State. First things first: he explained why he didn’t tell anyone about his drug problem. “For years I kept a distance from the Cougar nation because I felt I let them down in my professional career. I couldn’t have been more wrong,” he said while holding back the emotion. “There’s a popular saying, ‘Once a Coug, always a Coug’. It’s really true”/Jared Frank, SWXRightNow.com. 
More Info: On the eve of income tax day and a year after the first Tea Party was held in Coeur d’Alene to protest what they believe has been wild government spending and threatened freedoms, about 2,500 packed into the Greyhound Park and Event Center on Wednesday night to show their fight isn’t over. … Wednesday’s rally was the largest of the five held by the Tea Party Patriots of North Idaho. Traffic on westbound Interstate 90 was delayed 15 to 20 minutes trying to exit to the event. Seating had to be added to the upper level of the facility. And the rally started a half hour late to accommodate those caught in traffic.
#2 are still in dispute. Incumbent Mike Kennedy beat opponent Jim Brannon by five votes so now Brannon is turning to the court hoping a district judge will order a new election. Brannon says his challenge is not about losing or winning or even the city council seat at this point. Brannon claims he continues to fight to ensure a fair electoral process but not everyone agrees. “I’m not a sore loser, it’s not about who won, its way past that, it’s about the process,” Brannon said. Brannon insists he’s not a sore loser after losing the closest race Coeur d’Alene has seen in decades, but instead of requesting a recount Brannon filed a lawsuit instead/Tania Dall, KXLY. 
Pew Research Center is out with a new quiz probing just what we know about current issues and politics. Most folks who have taken the quiz - the questions range who the Senate Majority Leader is to which country holds most of the debt that the United States has piled up - could answer less than half of the questions correctly. Take the quick, 12 question quiz and see how you stack up. Frankly, if you read a daily newspaper, listen to NPR, watch CNN, FOX of MSNBC, or check a major newspaper blog once in a while you should ace the quiz. However, based upon Pew’s findings, most folks are living in an basic information black hole/Marc Johnson, The Johnson Post. 
Trish Gannon/River Journal: Hey HBOers… I’m writing my next column on unusual food combinations. This came about when I remarked to my son about how good potato chips on a ham sandwich taste, and we started talking. I told him about peanuts in Coke (he was stunned) and he told me about dipping your fries in a Wendy’s frosty (I was stunned). 
taxes. The National Tax Foundation has the 
popular, the John McCain bobblehead sells for just $3.95 used on eBay, and the Mitt Romney bobblehead is out of production. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for just $13.95 — less, I suspect, in McConnell’s native Kentucky. Among 
Dixon is a red-blooded American, a military man and a citizen who absolutely despises his government. The Spokane Valley resident despises what he sees as a tyrannical president and a new health care law that will lead to Soviet-style control of his countrymen. He detests the decline of his country’s values, and the rise of left-wing radicals. He hates the politicians in D.C. who call him an extremist and belittle him and others who share his concerns. Dixon is a Tea Partier, and he wants his country back. “I’ve never felt this way before. I’ve never felt like every morning I wake up and have to see what’s being said,” Dixon says. “And nobody’s saying the right thing”/Nicholas Deshais, Pacific Northwest Inlander. 
paychecks to nearly 1,700 people last year. Only Kootenai Health, the parent company of Kootenai Medical Center, a cancer and heart center, and several clinics, had more workers. The tribe employed 1,699 people last year at the Coeur d’Alene Casino and other government and business ventures, according to a University of Idaho study released Tuesday. The Idaho Department of Labor, which calculates employment slightly differently, said the tribe had 1,549 workers in 2009, compared to 1,813 at Kootenai Health. “The real story here is the tribe’s emergence as one of the region’s largest employers,” said Steven Peterson, UI economics professor who did the study. “They have diversified and expanded in all directions”/Becky Kramer, SR. 
contract detailed the former Alaska governor’s requirements for her visit, including first-class flights from Anchorage to California — if she flies commercial. If not, “the private aircraft MUST BE a Lear 60 or larger …,” the contract specifies. The contract includes a suite and two single rooms at a luxury hotel. All audience questions will be pre-screened and approved by Palin in advance of her speech. Two bottles of water with flexible straws will be on the podium. No autographs will be granted. Ostensibly, no video or sound recordings will be made of Palin’s appearance. Although the precise speaking fee for Palin is uncertain, the event is being booked as $500 per seat/David Laird, Community comment. 
journalism students and a teacher are learning a hard lesson in ethics after printing racial and offensive language in their high school newspaper. It happened at University High School in the Central Valley School District. The latest edition of the school newspaper, The Mercury, was printed on Friday, April 9th. Random students were asked “If you could be famous for anything, what would you be famous for?” One sophomore wrote he wants to be famous for quote” Killing someone famous.” Others said “Mass murderer,” “Having an affair with the President,” “Dropping a nuke on the Middle East,” “Killing the President with a trident,” “Leader of the KKK” and “Being JFK’s assassin”/KHQ. 
Liz: I used to have a cute li’l nose stud, but it fell out and closed up before I could get it redone. I don’t think it was really “me” so I never redid it. And btw, 
hate crime trial in Coeur d’Alene taught one of the defendants to check his gear before he draws a practical joke. Deputy Prosecutor Art Verharen used an erasable board to have a witness draw how the Tankovichs’ pickup, which had a swastika and “born to kill” written in the dirt, parked in front of the home of Kenneth Requena in Coeur d’Alene. During a trial break, Frank Tankovich (right) drew a smiley face on the board. But to Tankovich’s chagrin, he didn’t realize it was a permanent marker until he tried to erase the face before Kootenai County 1st District Judge John Luster returned to the courtroom/Thomas Clouse, Sirens & Gavels. 
can debate the political costs and benefits of 
Comedy gold as usual. I’d quite miss the ongoing HBO vs. OpenCDA war if it were to ever end. It’s like yin and yang, two opposites that would be incomplete without the other. Two “gossip blogs” feeding off each other in a beautiful, natural way. Two lovers running down the beach in soft focus, like a TV commercial for a feminine hygiene product. OK, maybe not so much. I love Bill M’s reference to CDA-TV as “the city’s propaganda channel”. I’m assuming he’s talking about my favorite show, the always gripping “Perils for Pedestrians”, hosted by that dashing sexpot John Z. Wetmore.
made it through most of the first day without the need for a judge to call a mistrial. Last week, the trial didn’t make it through the first witness before 1st District Judge John Luster halted the proceedings when Deputy Prosecutor Art Verharen played a tape of a 911 call where witness Julie Oliver told police that the incident was a “racist thing.” Today, attorneys for Ira G. Tankovich (pictured), 48, William M. Tankovich, 49, and Frank J. Tankovich, 46, were able to present opening arguments and begin calling witnesses before testimony was put on hold to deal with legal issues surrounding the wife of the alleged victim/Thomas Clouse, SR. 
yesterday about a 
messaging service Twitter is introducing advertising, allowing companies to pay to have their messages show up first in searches. The feature introduced Tuesday is called Promoted Tweets. Twitter says Best Buy Co., Sony Pictures, Starbucks Corp. and Virgin America are some of the advertisers. San Francisco-based Twitter has grown quickly in popularity, but hasn’t had a real way to make money. The eventual introduction of advertising comes as no big surprise/King5. 
to Councilman Mike Kennedy for a do-over election during the May primaries. In their usual fit of paranoia, one of the three regular commenters on the site believe the posts yesterday was my way of distancing myself from Kennedy, a regular commenter at Huckleberries Online since almost the beginning. I don’t have time to explain to the inmates at that cyber institution what constitutes news and what doesn’t online. The thread was suppose to address the reason for Brannon writing the challenge letter to Kennedy. But quickly degenerated into a critique of the current “Coffee with the Mayor” program, featuring Press Editor Mike Patrick and myself. Ah, I came out a bit on the short end of the critiques, as you might imagine. ‘Tis nice to know that I still live large in the alleged minds of the OpenCDA.com denizens. 
Duwaik.” “As the coordinator of the events this year, I had thought of this years theme as a result of the changes that have taken place in my own life. Over the last few years, I have been slowly making changes in my life that promote the simple concepts of reduce, reuse, and recycle. While we as Americans struggle with these concepts, since we’ve become a ‘throw-away’ nation, I have been struggling to recondition my thinking patterns. I think back that only a few years ago, our parents and grand-parents understood these principles fundamentally. The way of life was to make sure that you got as much use out of everything in your life- food, clothing, shelter, transportation, etc.” 
District congressional seat, joining a group of GOP Canyon County elected officials in taking sides in the hotly contested Republican primary race. “I think he’s a better-qualified candidate, a deeper thinker, a harder worker,” Batt said of Ward, who’s facing off with state Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Eagle, in the primary contest. That means Ward now has two former Idaho governors - Batt and former GOP Gov. Dirk Kempthorne - on his side in the race. Batt said he’s not particularly displeased with the performance of the current 1st District congressman, conservative “Blue Dog” Democrat Walt Minnick/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
chickens could fly, they’d be winging it off the shelves in North Idaho where local suppliers say they’re barely keeping up with a growing demand for chicks. The city of Coeur d’Alene says it has seen a 20-percent increase in curious callers wanting to know the rules about raising chickens. These days it may be less about eating healthy and more about necessity. “A lady called me this morning and said when are my chickens coming and I said April 11th they’re almost here,” Art Grant with Cenex Co-op Supply in Coeur d’Alene said. It’s a waiting game that Art Grant hasn’t seen in his 42 years at Cenex Co-op Supply. “Some of them are sold out. You can’t get them anymore,” he said/Tania Dall, KXLY. 
spokesman Kirk Smith re: Idaho Gov. Butch Otter’s reaction to his group’s invitation to be the main speaker at its first anniversary celebration Thursday. Otter’s primary election opponents had varying responses. Rex Rammell, who’s been on national TV twice in the last three weeks talking about his support for the militia movement, accused Otter of trying to steal his platform. “Now that he’s up for re-election, he’s Mr. States’ Rights,” Rammell said. Sharon Ullman, an Ada County commissioner, said, “He’s certainly welcome to go do whatever he wants,” adding with a laugh that the speaking gig means Otter won’t be campaigning in Idaho that afternoon/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
Herb: If prayer really works, maybe we should all bow our heads in a request for sanity to return to Coeur d’Alene. And while we are at it, father, can you find some constitutional way to shut up the nay sayers? The natering nabobs of negativity?
Though I loooovvveee the idea of fat suits at dawn, I think the voters would prefer more of an endurance program for their elected officials — think a series of physical and mental challenges over a weekend. Balance a budget. Do a Soduku. Win at Mario Kart. Carry an egg on a spoon. Read a book from the library and write a cogent summary of it in under an hour. Suggest a better use for McEuen Field. Jump off the rocks at Tubbs Hill. Finish with an all-you-can-eat wing battle at Capone’s. 
2. No one was caught toe-tapping in the men’s room.
for Greece, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 11000, something it hadn’t achieved since the financial system began teetering nearly 19 months ago. By inching past the milestone—rising just 8.62 points, or 0.08%, to 11005.97—the Dow continued what amounts to a stealth rally in a market characterized by below-average trading volume and small daily moves. The Dow has risen on 23 of the past 30 trading days, but moved more than 100 points only once, on March 23. It has risen 68% since bottoming out in March 2009, but is up just 6% this year/E.S. Browning, Wall Street Journal. 
Coeur d’Alene Councilman Mike Kennedy to a second election to settle their contested City Council election of last November. He wrote to Kennedy that he’s willing to settle his lawsuit at the ballot box in the May 25 primary election. Brannon wrote: “I propose that the new election for Seat 2 be held as part of the upcoming primary. All the apparatus and people will already be in place. It would be a minimal cost to the City or County. Mike, I ask you to acknowledge the serious problems with the election. Join with me to request a new election. If we agree, I believe the City will agree and the Judge will order it. Then the necessary changes in the election process can occur in an atmosphere of cooperation. To ensure fair elections, let’s gather the people necessary to make the new election happen on May 25th. Time is short. Please let me know your answer.” 
JeanieS: Couldn’t find a wild card other than this. I just learned that Scott Lukins, founding father of Lukins & Annis passed away yesterday from a fall he took on Friday. Mr. Lukins marked our hallways everyday. A very elegant man, very professional, very compassionate. There is not a kinder, gentler soul than his. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
generosity. People at an age when they might be well advised to buy only ripe bananas, not only buy green bananas but green trees as well, trees that will shade generations yet unborn. Kindness is part of the motivation for planting a tree in old age. It’s gratifying to reflect on the fact that people who don’t yet exist will eventually enjoy the shade you provide. But don’t think tree planting in later years isn’t also a selfish act. Old Thomas Jefferson said planting was one of his “great amusements,” even when it involved “things which can only be for posterity.” He said a person in his seventies “has no right to count on anything but annuals”/Bill Hall, Lewiston Tribune. 
granddaughters that I did with my own three children when they were babes. I can still get down on the floor and color in coloring books; I can play the bucking horse to Julia’s cowgirl; I can do the Easter bunny thing and hide the eggs or race around the park. But once I’m down there on the floor it’s harder than it used to be to get back up. I can hide the eggs, but if Julia can’t find them all, I probably can’t remember where I hid them, either. And in a foot race against that child, I’m just glad she’s only 2. Another couple of years and she’ll be leaving me in the dust. My heart is still in it, but my body is not as springy as it was a quarter century ago/Kathy Hedberg, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. 
Lynne: I need to start an Idiot Driver Blog. grrrr. Was traveling alongside a fully loaded logging truck on Hwy 95 this morning when the idiot in front of me not only swerved sharply in front of him, cutting him off, but then slammed on the brakes! Thank heavens the logging driver was on his toes, or I may have been toast this morning.
mom told me that if I can’t say something nice, I shouldn’t say anything at all. She said I’d “catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” Or something like that. I’m not very good at following Mom’s advice. Sure I’ve been complimentary of the Legislature’s willingness to take on the federal government with the passage of the Idaho Health Freedom Act and the Idaho Firearms Freedom Act. But there are, in fact, many noteworthy achievements from the last legislative session that have gotten too little attention — things I’ve grumbled about that Legislature has addressed, and in a positive way. The truth is, I got a lot of what I wanted/Wayne Hoffman, Idaho Freedom Foundation. 
representation here because I won the election. My family is having to bear this burden simply because I won an election. You might be okay with that, but I hope you don’t plan on running unless you are prepared to face a lawsuit from a sore-losing candidate. The city and county are not responsible for my legal bills, I am personally. Mr. Brannon and his attorney have now enlisted a State Senator and other citizens to assist in attempting to skirt the campaign finance law though the rules have been clearly spelled out for them. More evidence that in today’s toxic political climate in Idaho, winning a close election can put you at risk of getting sued just because your opponent doesn’t like the laws.
’60s affair with an interior design scheme that makes the place feel like the Brady Bunch’s farmhouse country getaway. I almost expected to see Ann B. Davis as Alice pop out from somewhere behind the hot cross buns in her blue uniform and wink at me. I’d guess the main counter and baking zone used to be the living room and kitchen, and just up an open flight of stairs is the lunch area, formerly Peter and Bobby’s room. It’s a bright, airy space with wooden booths and a smattering of works by local wildlife artist Sheila Bledsoe, including a cranky ostrich drawing with the apt caption “kneads caffeine”/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. 
CDA Press recently
will be hitting the Northwest corner of the Pacific-10 Conference starting this week looking for the “Girls of the Pac-10” - what the magazine calls one of its most popular features. Photographers will be taking photos and interviewing students at the University of Oregon today and Tuesday; Oregon State University Thursday and Friday; Washington State University April 19 and 20; and the University of Washington April 22 and 23. The “Girls of the Pac-10” issue will land on newsstands on Sept. 10/KING & KREM. 
say they’ve got a big name lined up for the Official Tea Party of Spokane’s 1st Anniversary Celebration and Rally this Thursday: Idaho Gov. Butch Otter. The event, which opens Thursday at 3 p.m. on the Floating Stage of the Spokane Convention Center, also features Washington State Rep. Shelly Short, R-Addy. The Tea Party of Spokane, according to its Web site, is “a non-partisan group of thousands of individuals united by our shared frustrations, desires and beliefs. We are people who KNOW our government should serve the will of the people, be fiscally responsible, limited in its authority and reach, supportive of free-market capitalism and individual liberty. … In essence, we seek to restore our constitutional republic by action!”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
Minnick’s idea that we trade 1 not 1000 follows the same thought process
that if your are hit by a train, it’s the caboose that kills you. As
much as it pains me as a supporter of Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl, I don’t want
his situation to further endanger the rest of military. Yes I want him
home but not at the expense of the rest of our military if it appears
they can easily become pawns in a trading game. It is the first trade,
not the thousandth, that puts this chain reaction in motion
Recent snowfall is encouraging area skiers to haul up to the
mountains to get in some runs before the 2009-10 season shuts down. Both
Schweitzer Mountain Resort and Silver Mountain Ski Resort will have
skiing this weekend. Schweitzer, in Sandpoint, will offer runs all
day Saturday and Sunday. Silver Mountain, in Kellogg, will only
offer skiing on Saturday. The other area resorts at 49 Degrees North and
Mount Spokane have closed/Tom Sowa, Office Hours. 
they thought. In less than two months from his first Inaugural, an
attempted assassination occurred. It was the work of a mentally
deranged man - unconnected to any political agenda. He simply tried to
kill the President for attention. Normal people do not do such
things…nor would they EVER even think of it, let alone speak of it. All
Americans (liberal, moderate and conservative) did not…and
do not accept this type of behavior. We fight the battles
within our republic with ideas and words…and votes. Timeless fights
with timeless ideas. Public revenge-anger serves no one except the
venting, vengeful mentally ill person. And so the lives of liberal
leaders are now threatened. As a conservative I cannot remain quiet. As
an American, I will not shrug this off/Dennis Mansfield. 
I could have told you this one (Idaho gas hits $3 per gallon), but apparently it’s not official unless it comes from AAA: the price of gas in Idaho has climbed to $3 per gallon for the first time in more than a year. That makes the state the sixth highest for gas prices in the nation. A AAA Idaho survey shows the average price per gallon went up 22 cents in the past month, well above the national average of $2.84 per gallon. Idaho’s gas prices haven’t been at the $3 mark since October 2008/Staci Lehman, 
paper’s sports page? Do you scrutinize every box score? Do you analyze
every minor-league trade? 
man accused of trying to rob a Spokane taco truck owner may have targeted the victim because of his race, new court documents allege. Michael A. Brewer, 22, has been charged under Washington’s hate-crime law after police say he yelled racial slurs while trying to rob Jonas J. Perez-Lopez at knifepoint last week. Brewer is to be arraigned on charges of attempted first-degree robbery and malicious harassment April 13 in Spokane County Superior Court. He’s being held at Geiger Corrections Center on $7,500 bail after appearing in court this week/Meghann M. Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels. 
Mike Kennedy this week. In a long motion, filled with many of the original complaints from Brannon’s suit, the McCrorys argue that there interest as registered voters in the case were denied when Judge Benjamin Simpson eliminated all the original defendants (including City Clerk Susan Weathers, Mayor Sandi Bloem, and all the City Council members) but incumbent Mike Kennedy, who defeated Brannon by 5 votes in November, 3165 to 3160. As a result, the McCrorys state in their motion made by attorney, Starr Kelso, the lawsuit now focuses only on the election involving the seat held by Kennedy. They want the judge to declare the entire 2009 municipal election null and void. Also, the McCrorys argue that they shouldn’t have to post a bond because Plaintiff Jim Brannon is already required to post a $5000 bond to pay witnesses’ and officials’ costs in the matter/HBO.
crosstown rivalry between Flathead and Glacier reached the boxing ring on Thursday in the first-ever smoker between the two Kalispell schools. After 16 spirited bouts, the sold-out event at Gardner Auction south of town ended in an 8-8 tie, with the fight of the night arguably coming between two girls, Flathead junior Cera Lau and Glacier freshman Nicole Heavirland. The younger sister to a pair of state champion wrestlers, Lau proved that toughness runs in the family as she went punch for punch with Heavirland over three crowd-pleasing rounds/Dillon Tabish, Daily Inter Lake. 
sounding alarm bells. Officials in California arrested Gregory Giusti for 
Britain whose political fires were stoked by the government’s massive spending in response to the financial collapse. She was featured prominently in a long New York Times piece in February about the tea parties, and she landed on “The Late Show with David Letterman” last week. Since then, the geniuses of the Internet have chewed her over from every angle. She’s a “sweet little old lady from Idaho.” She’s a “racist.” She’s “well-spoken” and “middle-aged.” (“I really thought I was old,” she said.) She’s naïve and ill-informed. She’s a hero. She’s a villain. When Fox News bloviator Bill O’Reilly referred to tea partiers as loons, a picture of Stout was displayed behind him. Stout rises above it. “When people say hurtful things about you,” she said, “they generally come from their own pain”/Shawn Vestal, SR. 
Spokane. The purpose of the meeting was for interested groups to tell a five-member panel of Washington Department of Ecology staffers why they support or oppose the proposed water quality standards for the Spokane River. … Here’s the beef: The Washington Department of Ecology has recommended a much more rigorous water quality standard for Idaho than for itself. While Washington would be permitted 42 parts per billion of phosphorus, Kootenai County would be held to a standard of 36. Even if the technology were developed to meet that 36 parts standard - which would be the most rigorous in the nation - finding the millions upon millions of dollars to totally overhaul wastewater treatment facilities in Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Hayden seems all but impossible/Coeur d’Alene Press. 
Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the court’s oldest member and leader of its liberal bloc, is retiring. President Barack Obama now has his second high court opening to fill. Stevens said Friday he will step down when the court finishes its work for the summer in late June or early July. He said he hopes his successor is confirmed “well in advance of the commencement of the court’s next term.” Stevens’ announcement leaves ample time for the White House to settle on a successor and for Senate Democrats, who control a 59-vote majority, to hold confirmation hearings and a vote before the court’s next term begins in October. Republicans have not ruled out attempts to delay confirmation/Associated Press. 
Im gobsmacked that someone 
Friend of mine saw this (
I was astounded today to open the paper and see political ad after political ad. Walt Bayes for governor … TEA Party party … Rammell for governor … Stivers for senate … Dan Green for commissioner … Jim Hammond for senate. I’ve always thought well of Mr Hammond. Thought he was a good manager for the City of Post Falls. His ad lists these bullets …Supporter of State Sovereignty … Endorsed by the NRA … Promoter of Economic Development rather than tax increases … Pro Life Advocate … I just shake my head. Fluff. All fluff. No substance there. I won’t be voting for him again nor any of the “North Idaho Trio.” To me the simple question to ask when it comes to any of these incumbent elected officials — commissioners, representatives, senators or governor is “are you better off today than you were when they were elected?” Overwhelmingly the answer to me is “no”. Schools aren’t better. What economic development?
I feel a bit annoyed at the world today, as I had about 20 sticks stolen from me last night from my carport. Most in the area know that they are free as it is, so I don’t understand the logic. I guess the world is changing and we have to adapt. All you need is one, and all you need to do is ask me and I would gladly give you any one that I have. I have gotten over my anger, I can’t let that annoy me anymore. I will continue to make them and give them away. It’s what I do and love. Please come by for one sometime, you will enjoy the visit.
girlfriend was pregnant. It’s hard to have a baby and, extremely hard when that child is crying and you can’t figure out why. It was hard for me and I’m 31 years old. I have all the resources in the world at my disposal and I have a wonderfully supportive and helpful husband. Still, it’s hard when they cry and you can’t stop it. But, that does not excuse what Tyler Jamison admits to doing. Tyler told Spokane Police that for at least the last month, he would get Skylynn to stop crying by either pinching her windpipe closed with his fingers or cupping his hands over her nose and mouth. He wasn’t stopping her from crying, he was stopping her from breathing/Melissa Luck/Beyond the Headlines, KXLY. 
has 
Freedom Day will arrive on April 9 this year, the 99th day of 2010, according to our annual calculation using the latest government data on income and taxes. Americans will work well over three months of the year—from January 1 to April 9—before they have earned enough money to pay this year’s tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels. This year’s Tax Freedom Day is one day later than in 2009, but more than two weeks earlier than in 2007/Tax Foundation, via Idaho Freedom Foundation Twitter. 
can opt out as long as we’re as bad as or worse than what [Congress] presented,” Otter said Thursday during a campaign event in Boise. Federal legislation that would allow states to opt out of new health care laws requires that states come up with a plan that is at least as comprehensive as the federal plan. Otter said that a state version of changes to health insurance would be just as bad as the federal plan. “It’s a bank buster. We’re looking at a century of debt before we get out of it.” The governor supports rejecting the new national plan by suing the federal government on constitutional grounds/Brad Iverson-Long, Idaho Reporter. 
applaud their efforts to remove such language from Idaho code. Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter signed into law Tuesday a bill that would strike “retarded,” “lunatic” and similar words from some 73 state laws. Unfortunately, the bill only covers part of the offensive language problem in the state. In signing the bill, Otter said the words were “just as hurtful to people with disabilities as racial slurs are to minorities,” according to an Associated Press story. Really? Tell that to the five American Indian tribes who have been trying to have the word “squaw” removed from about 100 place names in Idaho. The last attempt in 2001 failed because some members of the House couldn’t bring themselves to admit the word had any derogatory meaning at all/Murf Raquet, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. 
Moscow City Council recently sent a letter to Walmart President Mike Duke requesting the corporation keep its Moscow store open after a Walmart Supercenter opens in Pullman later this year. In the letter, the council expressed its concern for the community’s dependence on the store and the inconvenience it may cause some if it closes, as well as the loss of jobs and tax revenues. The letter was signed by the entire council, and encourages Walmart to consider remodeling its Moscow store or relocating as an alternative to closing the store/Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (SR File Photo/Jesse Tinsley shows work on the new WalMart store along H95 in Hayden in mid-January.)
friendly wink has long been a way to let someone know you find them interesting, amusing or attractive. Though the advent of online dating has changed the way couples meet and interact, at Match.com a virtual wink is still a way to signal interest. And for Spokane Valley’s Mary Spalding and Lee Stanton it led to true love. “Apparently, I winked first,” Spalding said. Two years ago, the recently divorced single mom waded cautiously into the world of online dating. “I was out of practice and kind of nervous”/CindyH, Washington Voices. 
Fire Department Lt. Todd Chism was arrested early Tuesday morning following a brawl with two Washington State Troopers during a traffic call in Stevens County. LT. Chism was arrested and booked into the Stevens County Jail on charges of DUI, resisting arrest and assault following the incident. State Patrol spokesman Bob Caulkins in Olympia says troopers were responding to a collision call in Stevens County around 3:15 AM Tuesday and found Chism’s vehicle in a ditch. “As troopers tried to take him through the DUI process he physically resisted,” Caulkins said/Erik Loney, Jeff Humphrey and Rob Kauder, KXLY. 
Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl today announced the signing a four-year agreement that will match top teams from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) against top opponents from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Qualifying teams will be selected according to each conference’s criteria for bowl participation. The MAC is committed to send its third selection of bowl-eligible teams to the Boise bowl game. The WAC is committed to send one of its top teams/KTVB. 
Tribune Managing Editor Paul Emerson is retiring on May 28 after a career that spans close to four decades at the newspaper. Emerson, 60, is making the move so he can pursue activities such as fishing, motorcycling, reading, travel, volunteering and spending time with his family while he’s young enough to enjoy it. “I do this with mixed feelings,” Emerson said. “I feel like I have the best job in journalism, but 38 years is long enough.” Emerson came to the Tribune in 1972 at the age of 22, fresh from Idaho State University. He did a stint as a sports writer and advanced through the ranks, becoming sports editor and later managing editor in 1981/Elaine Williams, Lewiston Tribune. 
beyond. The Pope’s handling of the mess, and his handlers handling of the mess, prompted a well-known parish priest in Idaho, who is also a canon lawyer, to go public with a call for Pope Benedict to resign. Father Tom Faucher in Boise suggested in an Op-Ed in the Idaho Statesman that some of the problem is generational. Benedict is 82. But, there is nothing generational about failing to aggressively, sensitively and completely address this cancer on the Church. We’re talking about the safety and well being of children, after all. Even a bunch of old men must know the importance of doing that/Marc Johnson, The Johnson Post. 
from the U of I, re-railing the No. 1 Shaft at Bunker when a colleague from our college crew fell a thousand feet down it. He was only 19. I think about him a lot, especially this time of year. Then, later that year, a college kid from our crew was walking out of the mine (not allowed) when he was hit by an ore train coming in. I remember two things from that: having to search the ‘piss ditch’ (the water running out of the mine) the next day in case anything was still missing, and reading a letter from his grieving mother asking if anyone knew why it happened. Loss of life is always tough, but when it’s a young life, and someone you worked next to every shift, it’s especially tough.
Bent: Apparently, this was my son’s friend. Poor kid just quit his last job to take a telemarketing job, but the problem is his jaw will be wired shut for the next seven months. He is in surgery right now. I don’t know all the details, but this was apparently a random act of violence… what a shame
Mike Jorgenson’s donations are like apples and oranges, while both are for the benefit of Jim Brannon, he has used two different avenues. The $1,091 was for an ad he ran in the newspaper and was considered an independent expendtiture (which does not carry the $1,000 limit) as Mr. Jorgenson indicated he made these flyers without knowledge or prior consent of Jim Brannon. His latest donation was as an individual made to Jim Brannon as a contribution and does carry the $1,000 limit.
memories, can he?
if coming back to school after spring break wasn’t hard enough, it turns out that the day we came back is also the day after Easter. Less than 24 hours after a bunch of 5 year olds have hunted eggs in an adrenaline induced frenzy and consumed enormous amounts of candy. They showed up this morning still buzzing from Peeps and jelly beans. Have you ever seen an ant farm? That’s what a kindergarten classroom looks like on a normal day. On a sugar high day, it’s like the ants have been eating nothing but, well, Peeps and jelly beans. I’m exhausted/A Butterfly Moment. 
“Not Wasting Idaho Taxpayer Money on Ridiculous Lawsuits,” was formed within hours of Idaho joining 12 other states on March 23 in suing the United States to block the new health care law. The Facebook 
Keith Allred, Democratic candidate for governor of Idaho, today said he has a different plan from current GOP Gov. Butch Otter’s lawsuit challenging federal health care reform: He said if elected governor, he’d take advantage of a clause in the new law that lets states “opt out” of the plan if they enact their own health-care reform plans. “Every year, more Idahoans don’t have access to health care and virtually all Idahoans pay more for it,” Allred said. “Whether we’re Republican, Democrat or independent, most of us agree that we just can’t keep going down the same path”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
camera at the county jail, ordering us to watch the birdie. Still, there’s something endlessly fascinating about police mug shots. Examine the accompanying photos of celebrities who have run afoul of the law recently. Note the bemused expressions. Are they supposed to smile, and if they smile is that a tacit admission of guilt? Or should they scowl, and if they frown hard enough is that a declaration of innocence? Nobody — Pretty Boy Floyd and John Dillinger included — ever expects to be the subject of a mug shot. But Floyd and Dillinger only got hung up in post offices. Today, virtually every booking photo taken in America is available online instantly. And once it makes the Internet, it’s there forever/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times News. 
around. But put her on a golf course and it’s a different story. She’s still nice and funny, but she’s also one of the best collegiate golfers in the nation, and that makes her pretty intimidating. Mortellaro is only a sophomore, but already the Vandal has left her mark in the Idaho history books. In her short career, she’s won four titles, three during the 2009-2010 season and one her freshman year. She also has the highest ranking in school history at No. 9 in the nation, averaging at 72.01 in 24 rounds of golf this year. Last year Mortellaro went to the NCAA regional tournament in Ohio, and though she didn’t move on, it was a big tournament for such a young golfer/Sandra Kelly, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. 
Obama, you have just done more to put our country at risk of a terrorist attack than the tens of thousands of Americans you scrutinize daily as they go through airports. What are you thinking? I’ve tried. I have really tried to find something you have done since taking office that makes me proud that I voted for you. I have not. What you have done is scare me. You scare me with your ego. You scare me with the advisers with which you have surrounded yourself and their tactics. You scare me with your lack of commitment to those around the world who are truly working for the betterment of their countries. You scare me with your support of the dictators who oppose those people. You scare me with your efforts to diminish this country to the level of the least common denominator. You scare me/Dogwalk Musings. 
Mike Jorgenson donated $1,000 Tuesday to Jim Brannon, the Seat 2 challenger contesting the results of Coeur d’Alene’s Nov. 3 general election. The pledge means Brannon, the seat 2 challenger, has surpassed the $5,000 total bond 1st District Judge Benjamin Simpson ordered with the suit, and ensures it will move forward. Brannon filed the bond Tuesday. “We’ve had road block after road block,” Brannon said of the effort to get the suit to trial, adding that he believed “there was substantial error that occurred in the election.” Jorgenson’s donation helped get it there, since Simpson lowered the original $40,000 bond to $5,000 last week/Coeur d’Alene Press. 
business owner in Coeur d’Alene is admitting to writing bad checks to his employees and now the disgruntled workers are threatening legal action. Fourth Street Pantry is a 24-hour restaurant in downtown Coeur d’Alene and has only been open for about three and a half months. But already some employees are furious saying they can’t cash their paychecks. The owner says he is having problems managing the cash flow. One Fourth Street Pantry employee says he’s been trying to cash his paycheck since the 30th and it has said insufficient funds every time/KREM2. 
Idaho College lost one of its dearest friends and supporters April 6. Longtime teacher, administrator, trustee, friend, and supporter Betty McLain was loved by all and a true champion for education and North Idaho College. A memorial service for McLain will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, April 9 at the Coeur d’Alene First Presbyterian Church at 6th and Lakeside Ave. McLain’s impact on North Idaho College is profound and long lasting. She began working at North Idaho College in 1961 as a part-time instructor. She accepted a full-time position the following year in the College Business Department and served as dean of women from 1968 to 1978. She was also chair of the Business Department from 1974 to 1985, the year she retired/North Idaho College Press Room. 
state of Idaho will pay $275,000 to settle a dispute over the seizure of 25 boat slips and docks at the Sandpoint Marina during a U.S. Highway 95 construction project. The agreement ends an 18-month skirmish between Ralph Sletager, the marina’s owner, and the Idaho Transportation Department. The parties agreed to drop lawsuits against each other and pay their own attorneys fees. Sletager can reinstall the docks when the $98 million Sand Creek Byway project is finished, the settlement said. The dispute arose over right-of-way for the byway, which reroutes Highway 95 away from Sandpoint’s historic downtown/Becky Kramer, SR. 
The sad reality is, especially in places like Idaho, the majority of employers do cross applicants with visible tattoos of their list of potential new hires. I don’t quite agree with that kind of old fashioned nonsense, but that’s just kinda the way it goes. I see young people with a ton of crazy tattoos and I wonder if they realize that they’ll either have to deal with being rejected by The Man or else find some form of self-employment, the latter being a good option anyway and something that most of my heavily tattooed friends have done quite successfully.
A friend and I were just talking on Easter about flying and how we use to really enjoy it… and now we hate it.. it isn’t the strip down part to get on the plane… it is the tight seats, the charging for lousy food, hardly any leg room … Makes driving more appealling … at least you can stop when you want and walk around. Stop for food and etc. we fly when it is a matter of time element … rest we drive. And if I had to fly to one of the big airports where take off time is 2 and 8 hours waiting to take off … I think I would lose it.
2008 election by the Montana-based National Institute on Money in State Politics. The average Senate race in Idaho cost $43,877, sixth least expensive in the country. The average Idaho House race cost $33,952, seventh cheapest. The five states where Senate candidates raised less money were Wyoming ($14,002), North Dakota ($19,043), Montana ($26,751), Vermont ($31,061) and Rhode Island ($40,533). The six states with cheaper House races were New Hampshire ($4,472), Vermont ($7,213), Maine ($10,814), Wyoming ($11,998), Montana ($16,100), North Dakota ($17,197) and Rhode Island ($31,428)/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. 
that popped up the most as the best local place to load up on fried rice and egg rolls was the ubiquitous fast-Chinese chain Panda Express. To me, that’s a bit tragic and it’s the finest evidence of the real or perceived dearth of fine Chinese cuisine in the vicinity. It’s like living someplace without a good Mexican joint, where people are forced into naming Taco Bell as the greatest. A Volcano Burrito or Cheesy Gordita Crunch may work in an occasional pinch, and Panda Express isn’t necessarily terrible either, but these options are pretty lame compared to an authentic, unique ethnic dining experience/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. 
of courage to get one. Admittedly, there are some who make an ink mistake due to inebriation, puppy love or lack of planning. The good news is that tattoos aren’t permanent anymore — they can be removed by a number of methods. They can also be covered pretty well by other tattoos or special makeup. The idea that tattoos (or unnatural hair color, for that matter) are unprofessional is nearly baseless. If someone decides not to take a person seriously in a business setting because they have a tribal band around their arm or a flower on the ankle that can be seen through pantyhose/Kelsey Samuels, UI Argonaut. 
The mayor of Los Angeles says all city departments except police, public safety and those that make money must close two days a week because of a budget crisis. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (vee-yah-ry-GOH’-sah), pictured, announced Tuesday that the city’s chief administrative officer will put the shutdown in motion beginning next week. On Monday, City Controller Wendy Greuel warned that Los Angeles would be unable to pay employees or vendors within a month. She urged the city to transfer $90 million from its reserves/Huffington Post. 
auction will take place in Coeur d’Alene. Each year, the department sells hides, furs, antlers and horns confiscated from poachers or taken from road kill. The auction, held in different locations around the state, raises money for Fish and Game’s general fund. More than 100 items will be sold at the May 1 auction, which takes place at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, 4056 N. Government Way. Viewing begins at 10 a.m. and the bidding starts at noon. This year, several wolf hides and skulls will be auctioned off, said Phil Cooper, a wildlife education coordinator. Some of the hides come from animals killed because they preyed on livestock/Becky Kramer, SR. 
I am an aisle sitter, so when the people started carrying on instead of checking, my body, arms and legs got smashed numerous times from the lack of concern of people when they wheeled things. I even get whapped in the head with the huge shoulder bags. Leaving Spokane on Thursday a woman with a huge child seat rammed it into my arm. Didn’t even acknowledge what she had done. Still have the bruise! Not fun.
An explosive device was found during a traffic stop on Interstate 90 in Coeur d’Alene Sunday night. Julianne M. Lewis, of Pasco, and William F. Heavyrunner, of Browning, Mont., were arrested near milepost 13 after Idaho State Police troopers found the device in their vehicle, along with drugs and guns, according to a news release. A bomb squad from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office disposed of the device. Idaho State Police declined to release further information, citing an ongoing investigation/Meghann M. Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels. 
this a publicity grab? 
young twins. In an early 2006 episode of the show, the family home, described as a basement with a roof, was replaced with a multi-story house resembling a mountain lodge. Tyson Foods Inc. threw in a $50,000 check for Mr. Hebert and his family. “We’ll definitely be able to call this our home for ever and ever and ever,” Mr. Hebert said when he saw his new home for the first time. Public records show Mr. Hebert’s original mortgage was for $110,000 in September 2004. In January 2006–just before the show aired–he refinanced for $250,000. About a year later, came another refinance with Wells Fargo for $382,500. A notice of default was recorded in January 2009 and the home was foreclosed on in October—the first known foreclosure in the Extreme series’ history/Dawn Wotapka, Wall Street Journal. 
Nothing political here, just dealing with eldercare issues, and feeling pretty sad. Took my beautiful now 85lb mom to a nursing home today. She’s been living on her own for the last year, doing very well, with lots of family support. Pneumonia and a bad fall have changed everything for her. Her six children were making plans to have mom stay with each one for a month, to see where she felt most comfortable since she couldn’t very well continue on her own. This was not anything I was counting on. Hope she’s ok tonight.
When I was on patrol I was 115 lbs. (I now carry the detective love handles) so a few times I got tossed around like a rag doll. We did not have tasers or pepper spray but I could always hang on until back up arrived. A chase was always fun and over to soon. It is different now. Officers are deliberatley targeted and murdered. Suspects are amped up on drugs and armed to the teeth. CDA is certainly a safe community compared to others but evil passes though from time to time. (Duncan)
River. That’s because they are ‘off the grid’. Yep, they live on wind and solar power, with the use of a gas-powered generator on those rare windless days and not-so-rare sunless days. You would never know it from their routine lives, including their regular use of computers, appliances and TVs. Of course the latter are not HD, which use many times the juice of non-HD, but that’s about the only concession. My hats off to anyone able to make the commitment to being totally self-contained in their daily lives, and thus insulated from the whims of outside forces.
the band shell right in front of a bike cop. The guy took off running and the chase was on. The cop, still on his bike, tried to kick out the man’s leg, but fell down in the process. He then yelled for help to the crowd. I responded by dropping my phone and dashing right for where the dude would be in 3 seconds (being a former football player, I know how to pursue at angles). He got there first and I immediately dropped him to the ground in a football tackle sort of way. I pinned him to the grass with my elbow firmly planted in his back while I waited for the cop to come and cuff him. Man, that was a good night. I honestly wish I could be a cop. That’s be tons of fun.
see me? What you don’t see, is the little girl who rode horses and had a goat for a pet, as well as cat called Skid Chain. You don’t see the girl who worked at schoolwork as well as played baseball … but a loner at the dance floor. Who would be thought of as a nerd of today’s phrases. Whose only memory from classmates, Is a smile and a pony tail. Or the mother of 8, herding her group, thru grocery stores, and laudratmats. Traveling thru the western states, following husbands and children in tow. Or the many camping trips with only sleeping bags placed by the river bank, with a campfire in the rocks/Cis, From A Simple Mind. 
last week’s Rasmussen poll does help cement the developing storyline that Otter is the prohibitive favorite. There is a lot of time until November, but that perception is starting to set. The poll, among other things, should be a wake up call to the Democratic campaign. It would appear that the buzz Allred created with his announcement in December was temporary and this race now has many of the makings of settling into the same kind of contest Idaho Democrats have lost every four years since 1994. For example, if the Rasmussen numbers are taken at face value, Allred - a one-time independent turned Democrat - has barely begun to solidify the puny Idaho Democratic base that I think can reasonably be calculated at plus or minus 30%/Marc Johnson, The Johnson Post. 
bondsman and SPD officers who tackled a runner at Fred Meyer. Right in the produce department! The dude’s head hit the floor and it really did sound like a watermelon.” Which reminds me that I saw a female ISP officer stop and arrest a twentysomething right in front of my house on Good Friday evening. Dunno if it was for DUI. Or what. But the ISP officer called a transport van to take the guy away. Then, last evening, my wife encountered a possibly homeless male who had been rousted from City Park. He appeared to be asleep but he told us as we walked by that he was merely praying. He couldn’t understand why the police wouldn’t let him pray in the park.
Sausser is one of my favorite Merry Hucksters, although he still doesn’t like the fact that HBO and most other newspaper blog sites allow anonymity to posters. Today, he wrote: “This morning’s SR editorial page features an interesting Leonard Pitts comment regarding anonymous blog posting, a subject I have addressed here at HBO but is usually devoid of discussion, or at most a demeaning of this non-anonymous poster.” 
committed against me. Did anybody ever tell you, for example, that you would reach a point when your body would turn against you and hormones would fluctuate wildly and make it impossible to get your rest? I have never understood what, exactly, hormones are, but I can tell you for sure they haven’t done me a whole lot of good. Hormones have caused my body to go through weird growth stages and driven me to behave in ways that would make my mother blush. Now, at this stage of my life, they have abandoned me and left me in this sorry, sleepless state I am in tonight. Hormones I could do without, also bad advice/Kathy Hedberg, Lewiston Tribune. 
you’re me (or most Avista employees), you probably don’t go to bed every night thinking about energy – nor should you. That’s what we’re here for. As long as the lights turn on every day, the furnace fires up with natural gas every morning and your power is restored if it ever goes out, you probably don’t put much thought into your energy. Of course we want you to take energy efficiency to heart, so don’t get me wrong, but for the most part, out of sight, out of mind, right? You think about us when the bill comes, or when it’s really cold outside and you know your home is cranking out the juice. Fair enough. Like I mentioned – that’s what we’re here for/Dan_at_Avista. More here.
granting voting rights to women was added to the Constitution more than nine decades ago. Kathy Canfield-Davis (pictured), one of the researchers and an assistant professor at the University of Idaho Coeur d’Alene, says the authors hope their findings will shed light on any remaining barriers to women’s equality. The authors interviewed 15 women in leadership positions from throughout the state, a mix of school superintendents, school board members, mayors, legislators and judges. Canfield-Davis says none felt like her gender prohibited her from being where she wanted to be, but the women generally acknowledged that while there is still a system in place that favors male dominance/Associated Press.
Augusta after playing his first public golf since November. About 500 spectators watched the 34-year-old take part in the first official practice session for the Masters on Monday. “What a great day. Coming into today I didn’t know what to expect with regard to my reception,” Woods said. “The galleries couldn’t have been nicer. It blew me away, it really did.” The world number one was quizzed at a news conference for the first time since crashing his car into a fire hydrant outside his Florida home on 27 November. The incident sparked a series of revelations about the American’s private life and led him to admit he had “had affairs and cheated”/BBC Sport. 
man already accused of assaulting a woman he used to care for now is accused of kidnapping her from the Coeur d’Alene Casino, according to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department. John M. Costa, 47, of Chewelah, is due in Kootenai County District Court this afternoon after he was arrested Saturday about 4:20 p.m. on suspicion of first-degree kidnapping. He’s accused of kidnapping a 49-year-old woman he used to care for from the Coeur d’Alene Casino, then taking her to a hotel in Plummer to try to persuade her to drop battery charges against him in Washington, according to the Sheriff’s Department/Meghann M. Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels. 
serve and vote in the House and Senate. Perhaps there is some legitimacy to having a substitute temporarily fill in for a legislator who, because of an emergency, must be absent for a few days while the session is underway. But it’s gotten out of hand. Today, substitutes — who have never stood for election — are granted full voting rights while the elected lawmaker is gone over the course of two or three full legislative sessions. This last session, one substitute was handed the gavel and presided over the state Senate, having never secured a single vote to validate his presence either on the floor of the Senate or behind the rostrum/Wayne Hoffman, Idaho Freedom Foundation. 
country. Sales included pre-orders of the iPad, a new type of touch-screen device that blends features of the iPhone, electronic book readers and tablet computers. Prices start at $499 for iPads that connect to the Internet through Wi-Fi. Apple will sell costlier iPads with cellular data connections later this month. Apple says that iPad owners downloaded over a million applications from its app store and more than 250,000 electronic books on Saturday. Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs says the iPad is going to be a game changer. Its shares are down 17 cents to $235.80 in premarket trading/Associated Press.
real fireworks to report although some of the questions they asked of each other were pretty direct and obviously intended for some discomfort. There was a full house with quite a range of spectators. … I don’t think there were any real flubs by the contestants although some were more relaxed and smooth than others. I thought it was a good format except that I don’t think anyone realized that many of the questions they had for each other were repeated by other candidates. There were a few main themes that came up repeatedly: the comp plan and why it taking so long, thoughts of optional forms of county government, what to do about jail overcrowding, and how about those dumpster sites.
Had a very nice tour this morning on Tubbs Hill with our Arborist in a sense and many others from the Tubbs Hill Foundation and ones from the forest service and others that are experts in their field about the Hill and the trees that grow there. In the upcoming season, they will be cutting many non native trees from Tubbs Hill and though it was cold and snowing at 9am, the information was very valuable to one such as me, who really didn’t know much about native and non native trees. Thanks to all that attended, it was a very nice event. 
Traveling to Mexico “as a tourist” is not any more dangerous than it
was 20 years ago. Your biggest concern should be vendors and real
estate people trying to get “gringos” in love with a faux dream of
dream land condos and quesadillas. Avoid the “border” area, yes - but unless you are a wealthy mexican
with a big famous last name you are not in danger. If you go to any
“Senor Froggy place”, wear stupid balloons on your head and ask “any”
mexican passing by to take a picture of your stupid look, well, yes you
are in danger, taxi drivers, crooks, and tourist hunters will smell
you!.. leave your very expensive digital at home, dress normal AVOID THE
FANNY PACK FOR G’S SAKE and visit the wonders of this beautiful country
did you know that Idaho gubernatorial wannabe Rex Rammell was present at the North Idaho Lightfoot Militia training session and was quoted as saying the following in view of health care reform: “It’s because of the current administration’s politics — the more they
force upon the states, the more noise there is,” (Rammell) says. “The more
concern people have, the less freedom there is. Lots of Idahoans believe
the health care bill is very intrusive on our individual rights. … We
are not going to allow them to come into the state and make what we
believe are unconstitutional mandates. Even if they can get them
passed in D.C., we are not going to all that to happen. These guys want
to show a little force behind the scene… I don’t have a problem with
that“/TPMMuckraker. 
she’d never before heard. “He said ‘Mom,
I’m in really deep. Can I come home?’” Schelling recalled. She begged
her only son to let her pick him up, but he promised he’d be at his
parents’ home in southern Pend Oreille County the next day. He never
showed up. Kootenai County Sheriff’s investigators pulled Chris
Schelling’s body from the Spokane River, east of Post Falls, last
weekend. A detective determined Schelling entered the water while
fleeing a police chase in early December, just weeks after he promised
his mother he’d come home. His mother learned of his death on Monday -
his 32nd birthday. “He had an extremely tormented soul and he’s
finally at peace,” said Hannah Schelling. “It was meth. Meth was his
destruction”/Meghann M. Cuniff, SR. 
putrified shark favored by Norwegians. I can thank Andrew Zimmern of the Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Foods” program for that last one. One item that I crossed off the list years ago happens to be a favorite of Andrew’s no matter where his travels into the culinary arcane lead: Rocky Mountain Oysters. In fact, I’d wager that Zimmern has wrapped his mandibles around more testicles than Ricky Martin (this is more a test of your knowledge of current events than it is an exercise in political incorrectness — besides, I thought Elton John deserved a pass on this one)/Treasured Valley. 
Sometime last year I wrote a post about our daughter finally staying in her own bed through the night. Her success was short-lived, unfortunately, but she did show definite signs of progress. By late fall, she was in her room most nights from bedtime until morning. So, finally, mom and dad could get some uninterrupted sleep, right? Wrong. In December, one of our cats died. His brother was lonely and decided that the best place for him to sleep at night was with me. More specifically, with my feet/Idaho Dad, A Family Runs Through It. 
State Department to issue a 
resign, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI said in an intelligence note. The note, dated Monday, said the letters told the governors to vacate their posts within three days. The 
Gov. Butch Otter continues to “court” Washington businesses, sending personal letters to their owners that suggest they should move to the Gem State. That’s fair, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire said Thursday, because the Evergreen State makes similar overtures to businesses in other states, including Idaho. She called foul last month when Otter sent out a blanket “love letter” to businesses in the Washington and Oregon that derided the neighboring states for tax increases. “It is not normal for governors to send a so-called love letter. Governors absolutely do contact businesses in other states,” Gregoire said/Jim Camden, Spin Control. 
JimmyMAC: Hey DFO, Two huge GU stories you might not have caught in the past 48 hours. #1. 
always a Marine”. Vaughn Ward chooses not use the term Major, in his reference towards himself. I myself am a Marine Veteran, and amongst other Marines, I am still addressed by my rank from time to time as a term or respect and endearment, even though I am not retired. In fact on my first meet and greet with Vaughn Ward, I addressed him as “Major”, and oddly enough, recall addressing him as “Sir”. It was that time where he insisted I call him Vaughn, I realized that after 10 years of not being on Active Duty, old habits are hard to break. But nonetheless, the way I addressed him was a sign of respect.
predisposition to certain things that we have strong reactions to. In some cases, it’s the scary smell of improperly-cooked brussel sprouts that might turn someone off from that delicious wonder. To a Star Trek fan, a bold bristling at anything Star Wars is bound to happen. And to a certain fantastic S-R columnist and blogger, it’s the OpenCHRG folks. I can see how, after years of what seem to be purposefully-inaccurate statements on issues that any time they bring up a topic it is easy to immediately react and jump to their polar opposite when taking a stance. And, again, it doesn’t help that the OpenCHRG crowd, even when corrected, act the way they do. It’s a cyclonic force of inaccuracy that really only one person (you) in the local news media there in North Idaho is addressing.
Ribs are darn tasty as well, but a little charred. I personally like them a little charred but i’m just reporting back based on EVERYONE’s review. With that said, the BBQ was a great flavor and they did Fall.Off.The.Bone. The menu was equally a steakhouse as much as it was a BBQ house, which is cool. Pa in law’s fries were super super seasoned and overwhelmingly salty. Pa in law and sis in law didn’t rave about the caesers, either, but outside of that, the meals themselves were excellent. I think my ribeye and rib combo was like $18. Any other joint of this caliber would have charged a minimum $20 for the ribeye PLUS the ribs as a surcharge to the meal. 
Bracket, knocking off No. 11 Coeur d’Alene 55-51. The Ravens will take on powerhouse No. 3 seed Brea Olinda from Brea, Calif. tomorrow. Brea Olinda finished the season ranked the No. 3 team in the country according to the Massey Ratings. “I’m sure the results will lead to plenty of debate across the country in locker rooms and family rooms, just as the BCS rankings do in college,” said Jason Rine, content manager at HighSchoolSports.net. “I can’t wait to hear the response for a simulated basketball tournament since our virtual football tournament was a huge success in January.” (AP Photo/Matt Cilley: Coeur d’Alene’s Carli Rosenthal, No. 24, blocks the shot of Lewiston’s Tanis Fuller, left, in the 5A Girls State Championship basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 20 in Nampa. Coeur d’Alene won 51-45.)
Brannon in his lawsuit to overturn the Coeur d’Alene City Council elections from $40,000 to $5,000. The action occurred this morning. In reducing the bond, Simpson said that nothing should be construed “as a limitation on recovery of all other costs in excess of $5,000 and attorney fees to the prevailing parties upon proper motion at the conclusion of this case.” In other words, Councilman Mike Kennedy, the only remaining defendant in the case, can sue for court and legal fees, if he wins the case. Brannon was given 7 days to post the bond. He also must pay more than $5,000 for documents and information he is seeking from the county elections department. 
Development Forum” scheduled for Monday. But at a regularly scheduled deliberation meeting at the Board of County Commissioners this morning, Chairman Rick Currie took some time to explain “the purposes and intent” of the 
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for tips that help arrest Scott Anthony Osborne, 39. Osborne is accused of stealing cash, keys, food, guitars and tools from the First Christian Church, 610 N. 4th St., and the St. Thomas Catholic Church, 919 E. Indiana Ave., on Oct. 22. Surveillance cameras at one of the churches captured the burglar, whom police identified Thursday as Osborne/Meghann M. Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels. 
an integral role in a plea agreement reached between Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson and Parks’ attorneys, Thompson said Wednesday. On Tuesday, Parks, 26, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter charges for killing his wife, Sarah Parks, and their unborn daughter, Lilly Ann Parks, on June 24. He also pleaded guilty to one count of first degree arson for setting their Moscow apartment on fire the day of the killings. Second District Court Judge Jeff M. Brudie last week denied the prosecution’s motion to admit evidence relating to Parks’ 2006 domestic violence case. Parks was initially charged with domestic battery in the 2006 case, but the charge was later amended to disturbing the peace/Christina Lords, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. 
Rasmussen Reports, one of the most visible names in political polling, has released its first poll of the year on the Idaho gubernatorial races and for Democrat Keith Allred, things are not looking up. The polling agency reports that incumbent Gov. Butch Otter holds a “comfortable” lead in the race and is beating Allred by 32 percentage points. Otter stands at 60 percent of likely voters, while Allred receives 28 percent. Only 9 percent of respondents were undecided, while just 3 percent said they preferred candidates other than Otter or Allred/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. 
50. A few days later I had over 100. Yes, that’s right, after years of resistance, I finally joined the Facebook revolution. Surely it’s no coincidence that this month Facebook became the most popular Web site in North America, surpassing even monster hit generator Google. I’m pretty sure I was the site’s 400 millionth registered user, but so far I haven’t received a T-shirt or a coffee mug, nor have I been asked to appear on Good Morning America/CindyH, Washington Voices. 
When this is the only set of choices to pick a candidate I don’t think it’s crossing over, I think it’s called voting. And as long as primary elections are paid for by everyone in the county instead of just being solely political party functions that could and should (in my personal opinion) be run and paid for by the parties then I think every voter has the right to engage in the process and make their choices accordingly. Otherwise it seems like a clear case of taxation without representation.
JeanieS: “I live right next to the railroad tracks that go east into Millwood. This morning we were awakened to several LE vehicles because 
often here — for finding 
can see, they include parsley and basil. Today my focus is on parsley and I will explain why…..My husband, better known as Bent for blogging purposes, recently delved into the world of pitmaster barbecuing. You see, we always eat barbecue….like seriously at least 300 days a year. I’m not sure what the inside of my oven even looks like anymore….Well, Bent’s love of barbecue prompted him to sign up for a few friendly barbecue competitions which in turn prompted several of his friends and family members to jump on the bandwagon. As a result, their group is signed up for several summer competitions. (I will post about them later) I know you must be wondering…how does parsley fit into all of this? Well, parsley happens to be one of the only garnishes allowed for presentation purposes in many barbecue competitions/Mrs. Bent., Bent’s Beer Garden. 
included lengthy coverage of the Sandpoint Tea Party movement: “These strange-thinking Americans, loosely roped together as the Tea Party movement, sent David Barstow on his most recent investigation. His assignment lasted for five uninterrupted months and bore literary fruit, with a 4,500-word front-page story on February 16. “Tea Party Lights Fuse for Rebellion on Right,” the headline read—aptly enough, for a premonitory suggestion of bombs going off just over the horizon rumbled through Barstow’s story. To the astute Times reader lingering with the paper over breakfast, the hints were unmistakable. There was the dateline, for one thing: Sandpoint, Idaho.” 
Americans forget about it for a few hours. In a 1,493-page draft of HB0.08, the president outlines a stimulus package that assures not just massive waste, but massive numbers of Americans getting wasted. In the Senate, similar legislation is being called The Bottoms Up Bill. From 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 15, water to every tap and fountain in the U.S. will be turned off, according to the bill. Instead, wine will flow from all warm water taps and beer from the cold taps. Fountains or other devices with only a button or one handle will provide the drinker a mixture of wine and beer/April Fuhl, Coeur d’Alene Press. 
Six months ago today, I started dialysis. What I once thought about with dread has turned out to be a really simple ordinary routine that I go through three mornings a week. No fuss. No muss. I simply go to MY chair and sit and relax and leave the driving to the other guy. I watch TV. Read books. Nap (a lot). And generally I actually enjoy my little spa-like rest. I leave rejuvenated and, as I am doing now, I do something that has nothing whatsoever to do with dialysis. I’m doing the laundry and have access to my laptop. 
been a tough few months in our neck of the woods as young death surrounds us. First, Jack Buell’s daughter-in-law died in an equestrian accident at 34. Then, our 40-year-old neighbor was killed in a car accident while working in North Dakota, just a few days after his father died at their place near ours on Cave Lake. Now, the snowmobiling accident and another great, young person is gone. Our thoughts and prayers go out to each of these families as they deal with the sudden, and senseless, deaths of their young people.
in the country. I finished my undergraduate degree in 2000 and had friends that went to both U of I and BSU. From what I understand these schools have no academic integrity. All students talked about was how easy it was to cheat on tests and spent more time on greek row than in the classroom, U of I mainly as their campus is a greek life sh.. show. Another drawback that I see is that they do not have the highest caliber professors. If you don’t agree all I have to say is if you could work in Moscow, Idaho or Seattle, Washington which would you choose. Full comment below.
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