Spokane7
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Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn, pictured, (first elected not all that long ago, in 2008), 
a quarter of Idaho high school graduates attending Boise State University are so far behind on their English and math skills, they’re required to take remedial courses to catch up. In some cases, more than half of the students from an Idaho high school arrive unprepared for basic freshman-level college classes. Data from Boise State University show that in the 2010 class, 388 BSU students less than a year out of high school had to take remedial classes in English, math or both/Erik Makrush, Idaho Freedom Foundation. 
makes it possible for Coeur d’Alene police to cite individuals who have alcoholic beverages, opened or unopened, on public property. Which, of course, would be a problem, if Mary is analyzing this correctly. Who wants to be cited for inadvertently carrying an unopened six-pack of beer of bottle of wine across a public right of way in front of your house. No where does Mary say that she bothered to contact Mayor Sandi Bloem, city staff, or a council member to see if she is interpreting the slight change correctly. Also, Mary goes onto gush that the Tea Party movement of which she’s an organizer is having an impact. And she issued a call to arms to her followers to join her at 10:45 a.m. Sunday at the corner of 19th & Sherman to be part of the 4th of July Parade. You’ve been warned. 
millions of teenagers across America, Jessi Stobart, Madi LePiane and Allison High were all atwitter this week as they waited for Tuesday’s midnight premiere of “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” the third film in the massively popular “Twilight” series. But if the trio of Missoula friends seemed a little more excited than most, they could be excused: They’re in the movie. And if you see them walking around Wednesday with a glint of I-told-you-so in their eyes, they could be excused for that as well: They’ve finally proven to their friends that they weren’t just making up their silver-screen story/Joe Nickell, Missoulian. 
department has started work on a controversial drug abuser study commissioned earlier in the year by state lawmakers. The study, the official confirmed, will likely be completed well before the start of the 2011 legislative session, the date by which lawmakers ordered the study be concluded. … Officials with the department, Shanahan said, will evaluate if there would be any benefit to the state through removing reoccurring drug offenders from public assistance payments like Medicaid or food stamps/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. 
for 4th of July weekend travel, the National Motorists Association Wednesday issued lists of the states where drivers are most, and least, likely to get tickets. Idaho came in at No. 44 among 51 contenders - the 50 states plus the District of Columbia. And for your holiday traveling planning, Idaho borders the least ticket-prone state - No. 51, Montana - and one of the most ticket-prone - Nevada, tied with Georgia for No. 2/Idaho Statesman. 
College President Priscilla Bell, as a result of that dustup with the college over her pay. Seems Patrick was miffed when college spokesman John Martin complained mildly re: the accuracy of the figures used in a Press story re: Bell’s compensation. Such was Patrick’s outrage that he included this questionable sentence in his editorial today: “At the top of the list is the fact that at precisely the same time so many in the education field are having their financial tulips trimmed, Priscilla Bell’s garden is getting extra fertilizer. It’s not our fault or the public’s that fertilizer smells like, well, you know. It is what it is.” Big boys have big feelings/DFO.
increase at the very first reading of the college’s budget. Ron Vieselmeyer and Mic Armon, to their credit, opposed the tax hike. However, trustees did not offer so much as a respectful pause for public comment between reading the budget for the first time and adopting it with the full tax increase included. But that is what we have come to expect of the current regime. We live in an era when college presidents are rented, stay long enough to collect retirement benefits and then move on to the next campus that is eager to give them too much authority and too little accountability. We can’t comprehend why NIC’s trustees would reward their president with more money and a contract extension at a time like this. Unfortunately for Kootenai County taxpayers, it is what it is/Mike Patrick, Coeur d’Alene Press. 
Hart (pictured) should resign from the Idaho legislature. Of course we know that is not going to happen. But at the very least he should offer a substitute to serve in his place until he has paid his state tax bill in full. That won’t happen either. Instead Rep. Hart will continue to serve in the legislature despite the fact he owes the state a bundle in overdue taxes. Which makes this screed as fruitless as n well, fighting the government with some bogus claims about the Constitution and income taxes. … There is never a shortage of wingnuts who confuse their disagreement with the income tax with patriotism. But it is quite another thing altogether for an elected official to abuse the power of office/Dan Hammes, St. Maries Gazette-Record. 
steady drift of Idaho’s majority party toward ideological purity will drive moderates out. Nominating people who agree with repealing the 17th Amendment and imposing loyalty oaths should play right into the hands of Idaho Democrats, who will pick up legislative seats in competitive districts. But there are neither enough competitive districts nor enough Democratic candidates to make much of a difference. The GOP will retain control of a smaller but even more conservative legislative majority. Don’t expect the people dominating Idaho’s Republican precincts, central committees and state convention to have their way this year. Or even two years from now. But eventually, they will/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. 
House Speaker Lawerence Denney has appointed an ethics committee to investigate the conduct of Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol. Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, will chair the seven-member panel, and Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, will be vice-chair. The committee likely will meet in August. … 
noting only that Labrador had voted for the Republican presidential nominee in 2008 while Minnick has supported Democrats for president, including Barack Obama. “Raul Labrador has voted for all Republican presidential candidates as did the overwhelming majority of Idaho voters in the 1st Congressional District,” said Gum. “So who best represents the 1st CD? The conservative Raul Labrador or the smooth Walt Minnick?” Minnick campaign manager John Foster fired back at Labrador’s camp, taking McCain’s side. “Walt would never, as Labrador has done, question the ethics and principles of an American hero who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war,” Foster said/Politico. 
join Bent in hoping that the two reporters (Melissa Weaver and Erika Hoefer, pictured) from the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, Mont., and the other two people with them in the missing airplane are found safe. They’ve been missing since Sunday. Others have survived plane crashes in that rugged country of northwestern Montana. But more haven’t. A job as news editor — and later managing editor — at the Inter Lake brought me to the Inland Northwest 33 years ago. The Inter Lake building was built by John Barlow while I was editor in Kalispell for the Hagadone Newspaper Co. I know that newsroom. It’s a small one. The two empty desks in there today are looming huge. My thoughts and prayers are with the staff and the families of these two women. Now, for your Wild Card …
is hearing via Scanner Traffic that 2 males have plastered swastikas and racist material on every light standard and telephone pole along Highway 95, between Neider and Bosanko. One male, described as a white man with long hair and a gray shirt, is on foot. The other is in a tan Ford Explorer. As you may recall, Fast Lane Quick Lube, at Highway 95 & Bosanko is the business where a worker found that pipebomb under a vehicle, owned by former Aryan Nations lawyer Edgar Steele and driven by Steele’s wife, Cyndi. Steele is now in jail facing murder-for-hire charges involving his wife and mother-in-law.
commissioner Karl Benson (pictured) announced today that the WAC will delay any expansion of its membership until July 1, 2012 at the earliest. This means that for the 2011-12 season, the WAC will operate as an eight-team league that consists of Fresno State, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, New Mexico State, San Jose State and Utah State. “The WAC and its eight member schools remain well positioned for the future,” said Benson. “Over the past few weeks, the WAC’s Board of Directors and athletics directors have explored several membership options. We believe it is in the best interest of the WAC to operate as an eight-team league for the 2011-12 season. We will now take several months to ‘drill down’ on the various membership options before making any decisions that would impact the 2012-13 season”/via Brian Murphy, Idaho Statesman. 
On Facebook, SR colleague Joe Butler, who was wandering through Illinois at the time, mentioned that he has gone through a toll booth for the first time in his life and he’s seen fireflies for the first time. He prefers fireflies to toll booths any day. Now, I’ve visited a toll booth or two in bygone days, in California. But I’ve never seen a firefly.
human body. Every time you flush, you are adding phospates to the system. You will be seeing much more about phosphates in the systems in the future dealing with the TMDL (total maximum daily load) of phospate limitations placed on all cities on the Spokane River by the State of Washington. Total cost estimated at as much as 2 billion dollars to meet those standards, presently unattainable with todays technology. Anybody ready for a 500 per month sewer bill???????
someone who has yet to put an avatar beside his/her name displayed on the front page of HBO. I think posters should show proper respect to other Hucksters and put up an avatar before being given the spotlight at HBO nation. Anyone with me on this? … Also: I think we should have an HBO constitution or something … or at least some rules to be considered a legitimate commentator. I don’t want to see jokers with no avatars running around with Phaedrus, Sis, Spoke, or MM. In the words of Mayweather, “step yo game up.”
platform that calls for repeal of the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which provides for direct election of U.S. Senators. The platform also calls for state legislators and the governor to “nullify any and all existing and future unconstitutional Federal mandates and laws, funded or unfunded, that infringe on Idaho’s Tenth Amendment sovereignty.” … “If the state’s Senators had to be accountable to the State Legislators instead of to the people at large, Senators by and large would be much more in tune to the interest of the states as opposed to interest of people,” Bryan Smith, a GOP legislator from Bonneville County, told the Idaho Falls Post-Gazette/Seattle P-I Blogs. 
Mike H: Minnick comes across as moderate or even conservative on most issues. However, his first vote will be in the Democrat caucus. That vote will be to select Pelosi as their leader in the Democrat Party in the House. That vote alone makes it impossible to support him.
biggest Hoopfest in history is behind us but not before a gang-related shooting gave the event a black eye. Luckily the shooting happened right in front of an off-duty policewoman who played an integral role in bringing the incident to a swift conclusion. Detective Stacey Carr had volunteered for a charity event in the park along with her 11-year-old daughter when she saw the shooting happen. Carr discretely followed the suspects until she could guide other officers to the scene on her cell phone. “I saw his hands out like he’s holding a gun, but I don’t see the gun … [and] he turns around and he looks like he’s firing but again I don’t see the gun and I hear the pop, pop,” Carr said. The bullets intended for a rival gangster ended up hitting two innocent bystanders who did not want to be identified/Jeff Humphrey, KXLY. 
know-it-alls at the state Republican convention disapprove of the results, they’ll just call a do-over. That’s what party faithful said last weekend. Delegates to the state convention voted to send a letter urging 
A colleague asked me this morning what’s the best place to park and to watch the Fourth of July fireworks show along the north shore. I have a system that generally works, in which I arrive late — sometimes 15 minutes before the show begins — and get home without much hassle from the number of vehicles leaving on Northwest Boulevard, Government Way, and Fourth Street. I also sit on City Beach. Which, as crowded as it appears, always has room for Mrs. O and me. How about you?
A
search for a missing aircraft that was carrying two Daily Inter Lake staff writers and two men from Missoula shifted sharply late Monday from the Flathead Valley area to Sanders County and the National Bison Range. A command post for the search was set up Monday night at the National Bison Range Visitor Center, far from the original search area that extended from Kalispell as far as Glacier National Park and Canada. The plane had been missing since Sunday afternoon. … On board were Melissa Weaver (pictured), 23, a police and courts reporter with the Inter Lake, and Erika Hoefer, 27, a business reporter and page designer who also writes for the Flathead Business Journal.
DFO: The Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, Mont., is another Inland Northwest newspaper owned by Coeur d’Alene’s Duane Hagadone. It’s a newspaper about the same size as the Coeur d’Alene Press. I worked for five years there.
biggest reason we have studiously avoided Hoopfest all these years, however, is that I develop a severe rash of a most private nature when I am in a vast warbling mass of unwashed people, regardless of their intentions or why they came together. Yes, I admit it. I get a severe rash on the forefront of my brain just thinking about 30,000 plus strangers in close proximity to me and mine. Give me a quiet afternoon sitting out back in the Virtual Garden watching the Garden Gnomes and a few closely-held friends celebrating the ripening strawberry plants and the serenity of the rose bushes/David Laird, Community Comment. 
two professors, Washington University law professor and political science department Chair Andrew Martin and Colorado State University political scientist Kyle Saunders, analyzed every vote cast in the Idaho Legislature, they found no evidence that Democratic crossover voting in Idaho’s primary elections has resulted in the election of “Republicans in name only” who actually vote like Democrats. Instead, they found that all of Idaho’s GOP lawmakers voted more conservatively than the state’s Democratic lawmakers/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
Norm Semanko was elected as chairman of the Idaho Republican Party in 2008, a deep division was created within party membership. The divide may have been closed Saturday as Semanko was unanimously re-elected to the post. Semanko faced no opposition in his re-election bid, even though delegates from each county in the state had the opportunity to nominate someone of its own choosing. Delegates had only good things to say about Semanko, who some referred to as a person who has bridged the divide between those who supported him in 2008 and those who supported former chairman Kirk Sullivan/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. 
himself. His movements were bird-like but they were not so much like the cardinal or the sparrow as like a feisty little banty rooster. But Harry was a monogamous old bird, a one-hen rooster all the way. And as for beauty, how true it is that such judgments are in the eye of the beholder. He lived in a time of Lena Horne, one of history’s great beauties, but he only had eyes for Bess. She was his childhood sweetheart, a woman who appeared a bit sparrowish to others. But until the day he died, Harry Truman looked at Bess and saw a woman so adorable that the birds in the trees envied the song in his heart/Bill Hall, Lewiston Tribune. 
right, ma’am. He’s a big, fat prevaricator. Look it up yourself. Britain’s Science Museum recently commissioned a poll on gender and truthfulness and found — hope you’re sitting down, ladies), that the average guy tells three lies a day, or 1,092 a year. (By contrast, the typical woman lies just twice a day, which works out to 728 falsehoods annually.) But there’s worse. The most likely person for a man to lie to is his mother. One-fourth of men say they’ve misled mom — compared with 20 percent of women. “I didn’t have that much to drink” is men’s most popular fib/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. 
Supreme Court held today that Americans have the right to own a gun for self-defense anywhere they live, expanding the conservative court’s embrace of gun rights since John Roberts became Chief Justice. By a 5-4 vote, the justices cast doubt on handgun bans in the Chicago area, but signaled that some limitations on the Constitution’s “right to keep and bear arms” could survive legal challenges. Justice Samuel Alito said for the court that the Second Amendment right “applies equally to the federal government and the states.” The court was split along familiar ideological lines, with five conservative-moderate justices in favor of gun rights and four liberals opposed. Roberts voted with the majority/Associated Press. 
dazed and ecstatic as she received her winner’s medallion with the class of 2010 squealing and crowding around her, showering her with tight hugs and uplifting chatter. “I can’t believe I was chosen from all of these winners,” said a flabbergasted, shiny-eyed Leonard. “All of these girls qualify to be where I am. I’m so honored.” She walked away from Saturday night’s 
Son, if you hung out at Car d’Lane rather than attending “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” production June 19. I was center stage, fourth row, when Mike, Will and two other audience members were called to the stage to spell words for the mock bee along with Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre cast members. Mike and Will bounced, danced (term loosely used here), and spelled as part of the fun play based on – as the name indicates – a spelling bee. Mike nailed his first two words, including “Mexican,” before he tripped up on “muntjac” (a small jungle deer of Southeast Asia and the East Indies). Will outlasted his dad by a coupla words, including “cow”/DFO, HucksOnline. 
become synonymous in the minds of
quite a few voters as a bunch of crazy folks who want to overthrow the
government. You pass that resolution and Democrats will be out in the
streets telling all their friends, the Republicans want to violently
overthrow Obama. Now, I know many people will say, “Who cares what the left says?” I’m
not someone who worries that liberals don’t like us. That’s not the
issue. The issue here is not whether people like us, or whether they’re
saying nice things, but whether we’re handing them a stock of
ammunition, standing in front of them in our skivies and saying, “Fire
when ready”/Adam Graham, Adam’s Blog. 
conservative delegate said that only Ada and Twin Falls counties
brought with them to Idaho Falls members of the old-guard Republican
establishment. “Other than those two counties, I’d say
conservatives have been successful getting their (delegates) here
without a fight,” said Larry Spencer, from Bonner County in northern
Idaho. Spencer went further: U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, due to speak
Saturday, “is not much of a Republican,” he said. Simpson has
fallen out with hard-core conservatives over his stances on the 2008
Wall Street bailout - he backed it - and a wilderness plan for central
Idaho/John Miller, Associated Press. 
District race for a few hours Friday afternoon after
he failed to mention his party’s nominee for the race, Raul Labrador, in
a keynote address to delegates gathered at the state convention in
Idaho Falls. Late Friday night, in another speech to Idaho Republicans
at the Melaleuca ranch, Otter said that he didn’t mean to intentionally
snub Labrador. 
I think there should be a competition for moms. Like IronMOM that would include maternal feats of strength, multitasking, schedule juggling, and racing through stores. I think I could be competitive depending on the day and my diet.
hears … that Gov. Butch Otter may have stiffed state Rep. Raul Labrador in his lunch speech at the Idaho GOP convention in Idaho Falls today. According to my sources, Otter was supposed to bring Raul Labrador to the stage and endorse him. But he didn’t. He didn’t even mention Raul’s name. Later, state GOP executive director Jonathan Parker was observed being fairly steamed about the snub. In its report, the Associated Press mentioned that Otter had mentioned U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo and U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, who are also facing an election challenge, and thanked them for their service to the state. But said nothing of Labrador. 
Idaho Republicans won’t be adopting the Jedi religion or pushing for it to becoming the official state religion. A committee at the GOP’s convention on Friday unanimously rejected a resolution recognizing the religion popularized by the Star Wars movies. The resolution was submitted by Taso Kinnas of Boise, who didn’t speak to the committee and would not comment on the plan/Brad Iverson-Long. 
doesn’t recognize gay or lesbian marriage, but some Republicans want the state to go a step further. A panel of GOP delegates at the state party’s convention passed a measure Friday to define marriage as a bond between a “naturally born” man and woman, effectively barring transgenders. Bannock County delegate Ralph Lilling says his amendment to the state party’s platform will help further protect the traditional family unit. But Donna Montgomery, a delegate from Kootenai County, argued that the additional language was unnecessary because people from Idaho understand man is a man and a woman is a woman. The measure still has to go before the full convention for approval/Associated Press. 
summer. Now, let’s discuss the crazed triathlete that we must endure for weeks up to the event. On my Facebook page, one commenter had this close encounter w/a rude triathlete this morning: “Driving onto (North Idaho College) campus this morning, I rolled down my window and reminded a jaywalking Ironman that it was safer in the crosswalk he was ignoring … got a less than pleasant response — so much for the runners high!” Another recommended: “During the weeks prior to Ironman, drivers need to ramp up their bike watch game. Realize these stealth athletes are in camo and travel at 3 times the average biker speed. Look 6 times at the intersections.” (SR File Photo: Dan Pelle, from 2009 Ironman Coeur d’Alene)
A small film shot in North Idaho won big at its first film festival, the Playhouse West Film Festival in Los Angeles. “
seems to believe he can live by a different set of tax rules — different from the rules he helps to craft as a member of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee. Philosophically, Hart fits right into a conservative legislative killing field for tax reform. That’s how representative government works, and I get that. But there’s more where Phil Hart came from. House leadership can easily find another conservative for this committee, one who actually respects the rule of law. A House ethics committee will look into Hart’s tax problems. Regardless of the outcome, House leadership should relieve Hart of his seat on Revenue and Taxation/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. 
John Foster, campaign spokesman for Rep. Walt Minnick … called on (Republican challenger) Raul Labrador … to apologize for sending out a campaign e-mail that, Foster said, denigrated Idaho businesses. Thursday, China Veldhouse Gum, acting spokesperson for the Labrador campaign, fired back at Foster, saying that Minnick has much more to apologize for than does her candidate. The controversy was due in part to a line of text in a e-mail message the Labrador campaign sent out to supporters earlier this month/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. 
Gonzaga guard Matt Bouldin didn’t hear his name called during the NBA draft on Thursday, but there was plenty of activity behind the scenes. Late in the second round, Chicago Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson phoned Stu Lash, Bouldin’s agent. “They were very excited Matt was available to them and for John to call at the tail end of the draft is a strong indication of how they value Matt,” Lash said. Lash said Bouldin has agreed to a free-agent contract and will join Chicago’s summer league team. The Bulls’ first summer league game is July 13 in Las Vegas/Jim Meehan, SR. 
Coeur d’Alene man was honored this week for his lifetime of improving highway management in Idaho. Ray Oliver was one of the first Worley Highway District commissioners and held the position for nearly two decades. He also worked with the state legislature to get more funds distributed to local highway entities. So what did he get for his efforts? A gold watch? A plaque with his name on it? Nope, how about a building?/Staci Lehman, Kootenai MPO. 
Idaho State Rep. Phil Hart, who’s currently facing a House ethics review over his ongoing fight over unpaid federal and state income taxes, has paid his property taxes late on his Kootenai County home every year since 2002 and had to pay hundreds in interest and penalties. Tax records kept by the Kootenai County Treasurer’s Office show that Hart currently owes $1,011.23 for the 2009 taxes on the home, plus $55.04 in interest and $18.74 in penalties. Over the past eight years, he’s been as much as 16 months late on the property taxes on the home, and has paid $1,527.05 in interest and $325.64 in penalties and fees/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
am out to Higgens Point was more serious. I saw numerous Ironmen with the carbon fiber bikes and the pointy helmets out today. I did not see any up around Hayden Lake, which is different from my previous riding days up north lately. The Prairie Trail was home to quite a few runners today but I can’t differentiate runners from Ironmen so I’m not sure if it is related. On my way back through town, it appeared to be packet pick up day for racers. The downtown corridor was heavily congested with foot traffic that all had the same blue Ironman bag full of info and a Wheaties sample. Between the athletes, the cyclists and the car traffic, you really need to drive slowly through downtown right now/Christa Hazel, special correspondent for HucksOnline.
retired Coeur d’Alene police chief’s home. Robert Nuttleman, who served as the Coeur d’Alene chief in the 1970s, said he found the swastika and the words, “white power,” painted at 11273 Avondale Loop (Avondale Lake) at 6 o’clock Wednesday morning. Nuttleman told a Kootenai County deputy that the vandalism happened between 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday. He also said he didn’t know if the graffiti was directed at him, because he’s a former police chief, or someone else. The deputy asked that the Lakes Highway District remove the racist graffiti. Earlier last week, a Garwood area resident found a swastika sign hanging on her door in the morning. Also, Rachel Dolezal, director of Coeur d’Alene’s Human Rights Institute, found a noose hanging from her carport in the last week.
on the Trail of the Coeur d’ Alenes have a new viewpoint at the trailhead just north of Plummer, Idaho. On May 29, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe Veterans Memorial was dedicated. Gov. Butch Otter gave the keynote address and tribal veterans from across the U.S. attended the event. After seeing photos of the magnificent steel sculpture created by Virgil “Smoker” Marchand of Omak, I knew I had to see it in person. So, last Friday I made a pilgrimage to Plummer. And it didn’t disappoint. Visible from U.S. Highway 95, the exquisitely crafted warrior astride a horse holds a peace pipe aloft and gives testament to the proud Coeur d’Alene heritage of military service. Granite columns flank the sculpture, and behind it a semicircle of stones are engraved with the names of tribal veterans from every branch of the armed forces/Cindy Hval, Washington Voices. 
“throw the rascals out” mood of the electorate is so strong that any incumbent has to face the November general election with fear and trepidation. Gov. Butch Otter is no exception. As lieutenant governor, Butch Otter presided over the Idaho Senate during 10 of the 12 years I served in Boise. He wielded a quick gavel and knew his Robert’s Rules, but I never considered him a visionary. His record in office has proven me right on that score. If you ask any Idaho resident to name one thing Butch Otter has done for Idaho, chances are they can’t come up with anything. And the Idaho Statesman, generally an Otter supporter, stated it is “fair to describe Otter’s record as lackluster”/former state senator Mary Lou Reed, Inlander. 
Facebook friend sent this message from the University of Idaho re: spare tickets to the Sept. 11 game in Nebraska: “In order to comply with Nebraska’s ticketing policies and to ensure an equitable distribution of tickets; awarding of this new allotment of seats will be based on your LIFETIME GIVING TO U of I ATHLETICS. Requests for orders will be placed in rank of LIFETIME GIVING TO U of I ATHLETICS and tickets will be awarded until the allotment runs out or orders are fulfilled. Orders that are filled will have their credit cards billed immediately. Tickets will be shipped upon receipt of allotment from Nebraska.” 
Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre will present five performances of the musical “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” in Moscow next week to open the IRT season. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Monday-Friday at the Hartung Theatre on the UI campus. Kelly Quinnett of the University of Idaho theatre department, who will be co-creative director of IRT next year, said she and “Spelling Bee” director Roger Welch had talked about doing a co-production for years and that things finally fell into place/Alan Solan, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. 
Obama had no choice. Then he made the best possible choice. That was the prevailing reaction from Idaho political leaders Wednesday, as Obama booted Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the insubordinate U.S. commander in Afghanistan, who turned Rolling Stone magazine into his own personal millstone. The delegation also supported the president’s choice of a successor: Gen. David Petraeus, a former leader of U.S. operations in Iraq, and most recently McChrystal’s superior as head of the Central Command/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. 
passed him and stopped at the intersection of Fourth & Garden. Two of the men approached the pedestrian. One said: ”Sorry I have to mess with you” and pushed the victim backward. Then, the robber told the victim, “I want your stuff,” according to police reports. The victim was scared he was going to be beat up and handed over an undisclosed amount of money, and some personnel items. At that point, the robber’s companion told the victim to “run away” or he would be shot. Suspect #3 was the driver of the vehicle, but never came over to the victim/Coeur d’Alene Today. 
disclose the financial contributions he’s rounded up since the election went from the campaign trail to the courtroom. Brannon, challenging his five-vote loss to City Council incumbent Mike Kennedy, dodged answering questions about whether he intends to file that annual report or not last night before the Kootenai County Republican Party’s central committee meeting. “One never knows,” he said when asked. Brannon went on to say he didn’t think he had to disclose the sunshine report that tracks all the donors who’ve contributed $100 to $1,000 to his campaign because the money’s no longer going toward an election but rather to a court battle, so the sunshine laws don’t apply/Tom Hasslinger, Coeur d’Alene Press. 
don’t believe a college education is mandatory to being a better person. I do think it is a necessary evil to getting a better job. … My question is … if your daughter chose to be a (stay at home mother) and stay home until marriage is that a bad thing? If she feels called to be ‘just’ a wife and mom will you encourage her? Are you training her to be the BEST helpmeet she can be? Or will she go to college ‘just in case’ or as a backup plan for a failing marriage?/Crazy Homeschool Mama. 
Mike Kennedy asks (in Twitter and Facebook): “Anyone in Kootenai County want to make a reference for a good orthodontist? It’s braces time in Casa Kennedy and while I have met one or two over the years, it was never in the context of needing their services for kids.”
the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee is mulling a $2500 donation to challenger Jim Brannon in his never-ending attempt to overthrow his 5-vote loss to incumbent Mike Kennedy in the 2009 City Council elections. This, according to the Coeur d’Alene Press. At this point, the R’s are split on the propriety of the move, with some wondering if it’d set a bad precendence. The Press reports that the R’s are waiting for an opinion from counsel Jason Risch re: whether they should do so. The money was raised at the central committee’s Lincoln Day fund-raiser in February.
Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, in an interview: McChrystal had appeared to be the right person at the right time in Afghanistan, but his critical remarks constitute a “serious, serious error.” “(Obama) didn’t have much of a choice,” Risch said. Petraeus probably will be confirmed swiftly by the Senate, as Obama wants, and he has Risch’s vote. “He’s probably the best choice the president could have made”/via Kevin Richert’s blog. 
Picker Christa Hazel will be representing Huckleberries Online (full press credentials, and all) at Ironman Coeur d’Alene through Sunday. She just e-mailed this: “I was down (at Ironman Village at City Park) this morning. Tents are going up and a lot of worker bees seem pretty busy. I’m also noticing quite a few out-of-town plates with extremely fit drivers/passengers exploring CdA and the surrounding area. The Centennial Trail out to Higgens Point is fairly congested between families walking and tri-athletes training. I’ve started using the road instead of the path because the walkers with little kids are making it more dangerous on the trail while cyclists are trying to move along.”
Alford, our esteemed former publisher, recently took an unexpected dip in Payette Lake at McCall. During the Payette Cup Regatta, Alford was aboard his sailboat, the Nancy Ann, when he was knocked into the 48-degree water by the boom. A nearby sailor threw him a lifeline and pulled Alford from the frigid lake. His left leg smacked a winch during the mishap, but he was able to race the next day. Unfortunately, this sailing-gone-awry story doesn’t end there. When it was time to get his San Juan 21 sailboat ready for the trip home, the mast fell 3 to 4 feet, striking the Lewiston semi-retiree. “A falling mast is a sailor’s nightmare,” he told the Tattler. “It missed my head, but it hit my left leg”/Tribune Tattler. 
I sustained the most serious grilling injury of my long and illustrious barbecuing career over the weekend when a chicken tender flared up and singed my hair. I needn’t tell you that this near-tragedy really brought home the dangers of gas grills and tequila-based marinades. So naturally I went to George Mason University’s stats.org website — the oracle of indispensible statistical information on the Internet — to find out how close I came to losing an eyebrow. Here’s what I learned: Your risk of being involved in a nonfatal grilling accident is 1 in 86,830 — but 1 in 66,191 if you’re a guy. Kids 9 and under are at the greatest risk — 1 in 41,239, or 1 in 33,509 for boys alone/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. 
A supermarket tabloid that recently exposed Sen. John Edwards’ affair with a documentary filmmaker is now reporting that former Vice President Al Gore attacked a Portland masseuse at a local hotel. 
While I am on the side of the Tribe in their dispute with Benewah county, I still have a problem with the manner that the Tribe generates all of its profits. Generating millions of dollars from gambling profits from alot of people that cant afford to be throwing their money away is an issue for me. I understand that no one is forcing these people to gamble the grocery money away but I am not a gambling fan. Yes, the Tribe does do some good things. But I dont think we should turn a blind eye to the negative impact that gambling has on some people.
walk-on he certainly wasn’t the most highly recruited. But Tim Bush was the best, and not just on the gridiron. “Tim was a leader, always,” said Dave DeCoite, a strong safety from Truckee, Calif. “He’d get everybody amped up for games, and he was just a dominating defensive end. Not the biggest or the baddest, but he had the best heart I’ve ever seen.” DeCoite is saying this Tuesday, four days after Bush, 29, died in a mining accident near his hometown of Pinehurst, Idaho. Of all the Griz who played alongside Bush, DeCoite might’ve been the closest, and he knows more about Bush than the 34.5 sacks and 50 tackles for loss most of us remember him for/Fritz Neighbor, Missoulian. 
band and choir kids. You may well be the last of your kind. Maybe at some point in the future, you can sit your little brothers and sisters down and tell them what a bittersweet blessing it was to have played the last Sousa march or sung in the last spring concert ever performed in Melba. Or maybe it’s better they never find out what they missed. And let us pray there is no nascent Mozart or Wynton Marsalis or Joan Sutherland coming up through the Melba school system. What a tragedy that is, eh? Talent with no place to go? It was nothing personal, kids. The school board was only doing what it was told had to be done. The State Legislature informed them—along with every other school district in Idaho—that sacrifices had to be made”/Bill Cope, Boise Weekly. 
property into trust (tax exempt status) for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. Once the process is finalized, Benewah County stands to lose about $15,000 from the property tax rolls. Instead of working with the tribe, Benewah County officials opposed and apparently will now appeal the tribe’s request, primarily on the grounds that such a transaction would cause severe and irreparable financial harm to the county and its residents. This reckless and unfounded claim is toxic for everyone in Benewah County because it perpetuates misguided hostility toward the tribe/Marc Stewart, Coeur d’Alene Indian Tribe. 
and garbage abandoned at a campsite in Mineral County likely attracted a black bear that bit a Washington man on the head early Monday, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Rob Holmes, of Ellensburg, Wash., required 21 stitches on his earlobe after the bear bit him through his tent around 4:30 a.m., as he and a friend slept up Little Joe Road just southwest of St. Regis. Holmes’ injuries were not life-threatening, and he and his friend had left for home by Monday afternoon. After the bear bit Holmes, the man screamed. He then grabbed a flashlight and tried to follow it before driving to a Missoula hospital/Jamie Kelly, Missoulian. 
a judge found he had intimidated potential witnesses in the case — his wife and son. In a detention hearing today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office played two tapes of phone conversations Steele had with his wife, Cyndi, and his son, Rex, while being held at Kootenai County Jail on June 13. On the tapes, Steele tells his wife that she will be contacted by the attorney general’s office the following morning and will be asked to authenticate his voice on recordings that he says are doctored to sound as if he’s hiring a hitman to kill her. He pleads with her to say that it’s not his voice she hears on the tapes/Alison Boggs, SR. 
federal judge in New Orleans on Tuesday blocked a six-month moratorium on deep-water drilling projects that the Obama administration imposed in response to the vast 
so much of a guard’s job centers on power and overwhelming an opponent at the line of scrimmage. Like Davis, Iupati definitely is quick. And he had no issues as far as his conditioning. Iupati’s biggest task may be pass blocking. The Idaho product was soundly beaten during the Senior Bowl game in January, especially by quick Georgia defensive tackle 
while. I can’t remember submitting a homework paper that wasn’t first reviewed by him. I remember a lot of lessons he taught my siblings and me. I learned a simple rule for using ‘me’ vs ‘I’; I learned his fondness for the ‘comma’ and the ’semicolon’. It brings a smile to my face to remember his work with us as we learned to communicate clearly. His lessons, often, would end with all of us kids laughing and rolling on the floor. He would say to my mother “Marjorie, are you sure these children are mine? They don’t seem to take this seriously.” And we’d start laughing all over again.
friend Ward, whose house fronts on Sandpoint’s new traffic circle, would disagree with my support (for the new roundabout at Boyer and Larch). He’s been quite fond of saying he’s willing to sell tickets for seats on his lawn to watch what a disaster this will be. And I can’t blame him for being less than positive about it. No one likes to be a guinea pig, and given the high truck traffic at the intersection of Larch and Boyer, this might not be the location I would have selected for our first traffic circle. (Division and Pine, that’s where we need one! Just sayin’, Kody)/Trish Gannon, Politically Incorrect, River Journal. 
a Berry Picker sent me an e-mail from one of the blog’s zanier posts. Which I couldn’t resist. Seems Mary Souza read in the Press that the small safety building at City Park was named after CPD Blue spokeswoman Christie Wood (pictured). Huffs Mary: “This is a slam against poor Christie because the “building” named after her is really a utility shed! It’s a small, cheap, concrete structure that looks like a hot dog stand. It is rarely used, has no heat, no bathroom, no telephone, no amenities and it’s closed most of the year, except around Ironman.” ‘Tis nice to see Mary defending Christie for a change. But none of this ‘tis true. Christie weighed in on the Press story to say the building wasn’t named after her. The fun continues in the comments section of the OpenCDA.com as Dan Gookin lectures Christie re: dangling a participle in her post. 
An Idaho investment manager said the state’s retirement fund has a small amount of stock holdings in BP, the oil company linked to the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and that they’re unlikely to sell the stock owned for the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI). PERSI Investment Officer Bob Maynard said the fund that pays retirement benefits for state workers has historically underweighted BP, meaning it holds less of BP stock than an average investment portfolio would/Brad Iverson-Long, Idaho Reporter. 
rights activists in Coeur d’Alene have decided to fight flags with flags. For months, people have been walking into the Human Rights Education Institute in Coeur d’Alene asking what they can do about two nearby residences flying white supremacist flags, said Rachel Dolezal, the institute’s education director. The institute’s staff and volunteers brainstormed a response and decided to create a flag of their own, this one emblazoned with a human rights message. They are encouraging residents to fly the flags in their neighborhoods and use them to establish “hate-free zones” throughout the region/Alison Boggs, SR. 
Sunday ago Kurt and his wife went to the Chili’s Restaurant in Hayden, parked in a handicapped spot and walked inside to eat. An hour later they came out to find Kurt’s car had a nice scratch across the hood. Then he saw the note, tucked under his windshield wipers. “[It] said that they thought I was too mobile to be issued a handicapped placard and that I should be ashamed of myself.” “I read the note and that made me mad,” he said. The Coeur d’Alene Police have the note and is now investigating the vandalism done to Kurt’s car/McKay Allen, KXLY. 
Erickson received. For those of you keeping score at home, Keith (a former Coeur d’Alene Press reporter) and I were rival local government reporters back in the day. Now, fast forward to Sunday when Keith’s wife gave him a $5 Aerosmith-“Dream On”-themed, Idaho lottery ticket. Which turned out to be worth $500. Coincidentally, Aerosmith’s “Dream On” was playing on Keith’s head set when he turned it in at a local convenience store for the cash.
2004 I filed 1040 returns to get caught up. Suddenly I found myself in an IRS audit. I had to sue the IRS to avoid turning over the names and addresses of those who purchased my book, “Constitutional Income.” I was represented by the Center for Individual Rights, a Washington, D.C., public interest, freedom of speech law firm. The Center for Individual Rights won these lawsuits for me. The IRS audit report denied all my legitimate business deductions totaling $300,000. Why? An IRS employee told me “When you don’t give us everything we ask for, you get all of your deductions denied.” For them, this isn’t about the liens or the money; it’s about getting the names/Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol. Moscow-Pullman Daily News. 
put others at risk - like those who drink excessively - may not be held accountable. Elsewhere in Benewah County, Coeur d’Alene tribal cops may stop but not detain an intoxicated driver if he’s not a member of the Coeur d’ Alene Indian Tribe. Same goes for nontribal members accused of domestic abuse. If a representative of the Benewah County sheriff’s office doesn’t show up, tribal cops have little recourse but to release the suspect. All of which was supposedly resolved months ago, long before the summer tourist season began/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. 
decision by Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff (pictured in AP pool photo) to use Twitter to cover the execution by firing squad of Ronnie Lee Gardner Friday. Writes Callari: “A lot of controversy has been cyber-ventilating the collective blogo-and-twitterspheres today as the result of Utah’s attorney general need to provide a blow-by-blow lead-up to a firing squad execution via Twitter. Some have labeled it a ‘tweet too far.’” Among the last tweets of the event from Callari was this one: “I just gave the go ahead to Corrections Director to proceed with Gardner’s execution. May God grant him the mercy denied his victims.” 
Kerri Thoreson/
which is to say temperatures consistently above 80 degrees in the daytime and tomatoes consistently without frost damage at night, is what makes south-central Idaho livable. Without it, we’d just all best move to North Dakota. In North Dakota (state motto: “Winter can kill you here any time of year”), life runs on spec. Summer may come, or it might not, but Nodaks understand there’s not a darn thing they can do about it. Folks in Fargo spend their Aprils sandbagging the flooding Red River in the midst of a blizzard. In that kind of environment, you can never really count on anything good happening/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. 
Oct. 2, when Hart got word of his $53,000 obligation, he had 91 days – until the new year – to appeal. The deadline arrived “during the ten days next before the commencement” of the 2010 Legislature, so he waited until the session was over to submit his notice of appeal. The commission wants that appeal dismissed on grounds that not only did Hart miss the deadline, he failed to submit the full deposit required to be paid at the time of appeal. This is the fourth time Hart has invoked the legislative exemption during his six years in office. A strict reading of the Idaho Constitution may secure his right to do so. But for an elected official interested in maintaining his status as a citizen legislator, common sense would argue against it/Spokesman-Review Editorial Board. 
in a special “Viewpoint” program entitled “Plagiarism in Politics” that aired yesterday, did extensive analysis on unsuccessful GOP congressional candidate Vaughn Ward’s January announcement speech and reached a startling conclusion - the whole speech was plagiarized, not just the final paragraph in which Ward echoed Barack Obama’s 2004 Democratic convention speech. According to the station’s analysis, while other parts of the speech also repeated Obama’s words, the entire meat of the speech echoes an announcement speech given by a Pennsylvania congressional candidate, Pat Meehan, four months earlier/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
I hope to hear a complete and thorough accounting of the (Smokin’ the Coeur d’Alenes) BBQ event this weekend. I didn’t make it. Anyone know how things went? How did Bent do? My favorite home brew Laughing Dog was there. I hope Bent got to spend some time with Fred. I heard of the possibility of tens of thousands of people. That seemed high. How many folks were there? I heard people that paid to get in didn’t get to eat the good stuff. What did they eat?
minor incongruity was one of many pleasant revelations uncovered during a recent mid-afternoon visit to MoonDollars in Post Falls. The location itself is somewhat unexpected, sitting on the corner of Polston and Syringa Streets, the only eatery in a neighborhood consisting primarily of insurance offices and medical facilities. … Tucked inside the substantial menu is a somewhat boastful printout of “Great Facts to Know About MoonDollars Restaurant”, but as we would soon learn, they have every right to brag. Everything seems to be undertaken with an organic, back-to-basics approach that adds an element of personality that makes the Red Robins and Pizza Huts of the world seem like utter fakery/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. 
Spencer enjoys stirring up things in North Idaho, whether he’s fighting to stop the Kroc Center in Coeur d’Alene or Timberlake Fire District officials closer to his Bonner County home. The uberconservative gadfly spent some of his spring stumping for successful Kootenai County commissioner candidate Jai Nelson. He spent part of primary election day with a person holding a sign in support of a write-in candidate for a GOPrecinct post near the Seventh-day Adventist polling place. So you’d think that Spencer woulda taken time to vote. But he didn’t. When I called him on his oversight on my Huckleberries Online blog, Spencer offered this excuse: “Well, for one thing, the polls weren’t open when I left in the morning, and I worked in CdA until nearly 8 p.m. going door to door in CdA getting people driven to the polls down here. By the time I was done, there was not time to make it back to vote before the polls closed”/DFO, SR Huckleberries. 
Smith Kennedy (re: 
Most people miss the link between the June 16 Bloomsday, which was
coined 88 years ago in the James Joyce novel “Ulysses,” with Spokane’s
Bloomsday, which involves 50,000 people running 12 kilometers around
town on the first Sunday in May. Garrison Keillor is no exception. Keillor, a nationally acclaimed oral storyteller, led the cast and
musicians of his National Public Radio show as they performed two hours
of skits and songs to the obvious delight of 5,300 people who nearly
packed the Arena’s Star Theatre. Midway, Keillor devoted 4 minutes to a monologue highlighting
Spokane life. But he made an error that begs to be corrected. In mentioning the city’s signature events, such as Hoopfest, he
noted that “Bloomsday does not refer to James Joyce’s novel, ‘Ulysses,’
but to the lilacs” that bloom in spring. Wrong/Rich Landers, SR. 
on Friday — the one in which 3 delinquents in a red Geo hit a jogger with a water balloon as they passed him. The minor assault isn’t what caught my attention. Rather, I was impressed by the fact that the Post Falls police had a description of the vehicle, the license plate number, and the registered owners of the car before the three punks hit Seltice Way (via the local 911 dispatch center, illustrated by a SR file photo by Jesse Tinsley). In this era of cell phones, it’s easy for any of us to be the eyes and ears of law enforcement. Or to record news as it happens when we turn our cell phones into cameras as happened in that incident in which a Seattle officer punched the teen-age jaywalker after she assaulted him. Regularly, motorists with cell phones report suspected drunken drivers. Much of Scanner Traffic occurs as the result of mobile people using their cell phones.
firework that caused a fireworks stand to go up in
flames. The fire, which started about 8 p.m., burned two vehicles
and caused Highway 95 to shut down for a short time, authorities said. According
to a Coeur d’Alene Tribal spokesman, a minor was playing with fireworks
near Adeline’s Smoke Shop, near the old Worley Fire Station, when one
firework accidentally shot into the stand causing the building to ignite
along with the fireworks inside. The stand burned to the ground,
and two vehicles parked nearby were destroyed, authorities said. The
highway was shut down for safety reasons. No one was hurt/Spokesman-Review. (Illustrative SR file photo: Jesse Tinsley)
marks the 100th anniversary of Father’s Day, a holiday now
celebrated in 50 countries around the world but whose origins are from
right here in Spokane. Sonora Smart Dodd, the woman who founded
Father’s Day, was one of six children raised by her father, Civil War
veteran William Smart, who was left a widower after his wife died giving
birth to their sixth child. It was her appreciation and love of
her father that spawned the idea and on this centennial of the holiday
her family is in town to share her story. Father’s Day started as a quiet reflection inside Central Methodist
Church/Sally Showman, KXLY. 
12 to join the Big 10,
the Pac-10 nearly destroyed the Big 12 by taking four schools and Boise
State left the WAC to join the Mountain West Conference. Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott had
a hand in most of it, and he nearly changed the landscape of college
athletics. A week ago many football fans
throughout the Palouse had visions of going to Martin Stadium to watch
the Cougars take on the Texas Longhorns in conference play. It was an intriguing idea, and one
that nearly came to pass, but last-minute wrangling by the old guard of
the Big 12 halted Scott’s vision of a super Pac-16 conference. Now Coug fans can look forward to
playing Colorado and Utah instead of Texas and Oklahoma, and that’s not
necessarily a bad thing/Sandra Kelly, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. 
former All-American football player at the University of Montana died this morning of injuries he received in an accident at the Galena Mine near Silverton, Idaho. Tim Bush, 29, sustained internal injuries in a rockfall in the underground mine, which occurred about 8 a.m., family members said. He was taken to Shoshone Medical Center. Bush was a standout wrestler and football player at Kellogg High School who later played football with the University of Montana Grizzlies as a defensive end. During his football career he was named an All-American and set the school record with 34 sacks and tackles, past news reports show/Spokesman-Review. 
always appreciated the advice that the out-going clerk, Tom Taggart, gave me. He said that if he had it all to do over again he would have taken a lower partisan profile, particularly because of the county clerk’s role as chief election official. Therefore, while I certainly have never made it a secret that I’m an elected Democrat and do many things to support my party in general, I’ve also been careful not to become overly partisan for any particular candidate. In fact, the only yard signs I put up in my yard are my own. I’ve also chosen not to even hold a precinct committee position because of my election responsibilities.
yesterday he’d appoint an ethics committee to investigate Hart’s conduct, sent a guest opinion to newspapers this afternoon defending his fight against income taxes, but making no mention of his use of legislative privilege in his fight, his service on the House Revenue & Taxation Committee while he pressed his fight, or the pending ethics action, which is aimed at those two matters. Hart’s op-ed piece (click below to read it in full) focuses on his legal challenge to the federal income tax, including a quote from a lawyer who he said called his challenge “brilliant legal work;” his subsequent problems with an IRS audit; and his concerns about revealing the names of those who bought his book, “Constitutional Income”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
a company that sold self-help kits on legal immigration to America in a U.S. House of Representatives filing this year. The financial disclosure form, required of all congressional candidates, also doesn’t list Labrador Properties, LLC., according to a review of campaign and public records by The Associated Press. The form requires candidates to report any position held in the current calendar year and past two years/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
aide to U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick questions whether Canyon County Clerk Bill Hurst’s online campaigning for 1st District Republican challenger Raul Labrador is ethical, considering his position as chief elections officer for the county. Hurst has a pro-Labrador logo displayed on his Facebook page and also authors a blog called “Weeding Out Minnick Myths” that is critical of the Idaho Democrat. Hurst was defeated in May’s Republican Primary and will give up his elected seat in January to successful GOP challenger Chris Yamamoto. The clerk is the chief elections officer for the county and ultimately oversees the elections process of county, state and national elections/Sharon Strauss, Idaho Press-Tribune. 
for
former Aryan Nations attorney Edgar Steele. Close friends of Larry
Fairfax however describe him as a family oriented, loving
husband. Family friends Susan and John Crump still can’t believe Fairfax
is being linked to a murder for hire plot. “People do strange things,
they do things they wouldn’t normally do when their family is involved,”
Susan Crump said. The couple described the 49-year-old father of two as
a family man who cares about his friends and community. “This guy would
give you the shirt off his back and give you money if you needed it,”
John Crump said/Tania Dall, KXLY. 
I haven’t seen this ad yet, as I’ve been out of town. Cliff Hayes said he wouldn’t stoop to using this frivolous lawsuit himself and thus I presumed he wouldn’t condone its use as an election tool either. Thus I’m surprised that he and his treasurer Fred Ostermeyer have started down this path using other people to cast false aspersions on Dan English. I would have expected it from Ostermeyer, a known extreme conspiracy theorist, but I’ll be very disappointed in my friend Cliff Hayes if this is how he is going to allow his campaign to be waged.
for life, even with appeals. We have the death penalty in many states as well as the highest murder rate per capita in the world, in a non-war zone, so the death penalty is not a meaningful deterrent. We have executed innocent people, while other innocent people have been released from prison decades after being convicted based on (coerced) confessions and eyewitness testimony — mistakes and frame-ups happen. Anyone who is a right-to-lifer must be against the death penalty as a matter of logical consistency — don’t try to argue against this without doing the homework first.
attacks against County Clerk Dan English for the fall election (beyond the usual ones at OpenCDA.com) began this week in a large ad in the Nickel’s Worth (Page 10), “paid for by Carroll Carey.” In large print under a “DID YOU KNOW???” banner headline are such questions/accusations as: “That County Clerk Dan English and County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Cafferty are working hand in hand with Mike Kennedy’s legal team to assist all they can to thwart the election?” And: “That the City of Coeur d’Alene’s legal staff is coordinating its defense to the Election Contest with Mike Kennedy’s legal team?” The ad ends with the admonition that concerned citizens should call Dan English.
House Revenue and Taxation Committee, Hart is paying dearly for first, his defiance of the tax structure, and second, his negligence in appropriately addressing the first shortcoming. In the stories pouring out of newspapers about Hart’s tax liabilities and snail’s pace in remedying them, one essential element is missing: remorse. Nowhere does one sense that Hart is sorry he’s let down the tens of thousands of diligent taxpaying citizens he represents - many of whom don’t like the tax structure any more than he does - or the 1.6 million Idahoans who are smeared by his reluctance to share the American burden while living the American dream/Mike Patrick, Coeur d’Alene Press. 
McMorris Rodgers’ re-election bid Thursday. McMorris Rodgers, a Republican seeking her fourth term in a primary that includes four Democrats and a Constitutional Party challenger, was listed as one of Palin’s “mama grizzlies” in an online endorsement. The two have similar views on fiscal and social issues, and McMorris Rodgers was a strong supporter when Palin was named to John McCain’s presidential ticket in 2008. They have one other bond Palin mentions – both have a child with Down syndrome. Palin previously endorsed Republican Clint Didier in Washington’s U.S. Senate race over GOP establishment favorite Dino Rossi/Spokesman-Review.
accepts the sentence handed down to the sister of the killer on Thursday. LaTanya Clemmons was sentenced in Tacoma, Wash., by Judge Stephanie Arend to five years in prison for rendering criminal assistance to an alleged accomplice of Maurice Clemmons, an ex-convict who gunned down the officers in November at a Parkland coffee shop. “It was the most they could give her,” Geneva DeLong, the Post Falls mother of Griswold said after she heard about the sentence Thursday morning. Maurice Clemmons was shot by one of the dying officers but managed to escape. He was killed two days later by a Seattle police officer during a manhunt/Rick Thomas, Coeur d’Alene Press. 
Annual Father’s Day Survey finds one-in-10 working dads said their spouse or significant other has become unemployed in the last 12 months, with half indicating that it is causing stress at home. Forty-two percent of those polled are the sole provider for their household and nearly one-in-ten (nine percent) have taken on a second job in the last 12 months to provide for their family. Leaner staffs are creating more demands at the office, making it harder for working fathers to achieve a healthy work/life balance. Sixty-three percent said they work more than 40 hours per week/Consumer Affairs (via Public News Service Twitter). 
Dad, here’s to all the little things….the little things you have taught me and shared with me on this path called life…they are really the big things…the things that mean so much to me: Thank you for the family hikes, the family bike rides, and the family picnics at Farragut State Park…and thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to take us kids fishing at Hayden Lake (even though it was me you were usually fishing out of the lake). Thanks for teaching me how to mow the lawn, how to pick potato bugs, wash the car and clean the pasture. Thanks for teaching me that girls can do anything boys can do. Thanks for teaching me that it’s okay to dig in the dirt. Thanks for teaching me how to be tough…physically and emotionally/Sunny, Bent’s Beer Garden. 
where Steele said he would pay the witness $100,000 after the murders were carried out and the insurance payment came through. The witness requested $400 up front to cover travel costs to Oregon City to carry out the murders. Steele paid the money, and planned out an alibi and contingency plans if only one of the women were killed. During a meeting on June 10, Steele told the witness he would call the next day when his wife left their house in the SUV. Steele insisted that the witness would only be paid after both women were dead and he was not considered a suspect. Steele said he insisted on a hit that looked like a car crash to ensure both women died because he “did not want to take care of a paraplegic”/Lindsay Chamberlain, KREM2. 
the House to convene an ethics committee to look into two issues regarding Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol: Hart’s invoking of legislative privilege from civil process in his personal tax disputes over income taxes with the IRS and the Idaho State Tax Commission; and Hart’s service on the House Revenue & Taxation Committee while pressing his own case in a state tax appeal that Idaho’s income tax is unconstitutional. “Does he have a conflict, if he’s trying to set aside tax law through his personal suit while at the same time he’s sitting on the committee making tax law for everybody?” Rusche asked. He also questioned whether “by invoking the privilege in the manner he has, is that abusing the privilege of a legislator”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
Utah is set to execute a condemned killer by firing squad shortly after midnight Thursday, reviving an old West style of justice that hasn’t been used for at least 14 years and that many criticize as archaic. Barring the success of any final appeals, Ronnie Lee Gardner will be strapped into a chair, have a target pinned over his heart and die in a hail of bullets from five anonymous marksmen armed with .30-caliber rifles and firing from behind a ported wall/Associated Press. 
Rozen has been hired as the managing editor of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Assistant managing editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer from 2005-2009, Rozen has 20 years of management experience under his belt. He led a staff of 42 including seven managers and two teams of reporters. … Rozen has been in the area since Sunday exploring the community and meeting with newspaper staff. … “I grew up in a small community and would really enjoy that connection with the people and the place … that you don’t get with metro journalism,” he said. Rozen started at the PI in 1996 as manager of new media before moving to general manager of the PI’s website in 1999/Moscow-Pullman Daily News. 
University (BSU) basketball coach and the University of Idaho’s football coach during a board meeting Thursday. BSU’s Leon Rice (formerly an assistant at Gonzaga) will make a base salary of $400,000 for the next five years, plus incentives that could add up to an additional $70,000 a year if the team wins the NCAA basketball championship and players’ academic progress ranks highly. … The U of I’s Robb Akey will earn an average of more than $375,000 during the next five football seasons, with incentives that could add up to another $158,000 a year for various achievements including winning seven games in a season, being named national coach of the year, or finishing in the Top 25 ESPN/USA Today poll/Brad Iverson-Long, Idaho Reporter. 
Michael McFarland et al. That there are rumours, mostly false that have floated about the area, mostly started by advocates of one or the other camps, a final judgment has been rendered by Judge Hosack. The Captain’s Wheel, closed down since January of this year, was slammed by a what some called a biased verdict. Apparently the judge felt the same. The original judgement by the jury has been set aside. Essentially we are back to square one meaning whether the two majority owners can get real and agree on a sale price, since neither has the ability to financially start the restaurant back up/Herb Huseland, Bay Views. 
MtnGardener: Why should anyone elect as a representative someone who owes the rest of us money. We can argue about whether taxes are too high or too low but you can’t fund police, roads, schools etc. without taxes. If he’s a tax protester he can do what Gandhi did and go to jail for his beliefs. It ain’t legal to dodge taxes. Nor is it moral.
use refinement, some members of Idaho’s congressional delegation say. Rep. Mike Simpson (pictured) and Sen. Mike Crapo, Idaho Republicans who back the measure, acknowledged during a hearing Wednesday that it is far from perfect. … The bill would designate 332,775 acres in the Boulder-White Cloud mountain ranges as three wildernesses, separated in part by motorized trails. Advocates for recreation say much of the land is already under federal protection, and they don’t like the curbs the bill would place on other trails. Gov. Butch Otter opposes the bill, saying Idaho doesn’t need more wilderness/Lauren French, McClatchy Newspapers. 
The wife and I were talking about that very thing tonight. We figure that because of our dog, Fendi, that we have lost about 6 flights and weekends to Vegas and maybe one or two to Germany and/or Hawaii. In return we estimate that she has provided us about 75,000 laughs. We also realized that we can just think about our critter’s past antics and it will cause us to laugh all over again. We can’t recall any significant events happening in Vegas during any of our pre-Fendi visits and if we really want to travel again to Europe or Hawaii — then we’ll threaten to disinherit the children if they don’t dog sit for us.
The billboards used to bother me, too. And especially after my 10 year old son said they bothered him so much that he asked me to take another way home. We talked about what the boards were about so he knew it had to do with drugs, but the pictures still bothered him. After thinking about it, I realized that that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. If those pictures from those boards help him stay away from drugs and maybe even help him influence others to do the same, they will do what they were meant to do. Drugs and what they do to people are ugly. It’s hard to look at, yes. But better on the billboards than on our kids.
I think there are quite a few people out there that need a good pop in the mouth. I heard a young woman yesterday walking around my part of town on the phone as loud as she could possibly be using the F word at least 10 times a sentence. There was many young children around and she didn’t care. She deserved a good pop and maybe some duct tape while you’re at it. One of my true pet peeves is language and what we put up with.
Shelly Cunnington was treated to this wildlife menagerie on the dock at Fernan Lake, where she went this morning to greet the sunrise on the morning of her 44th birthday: “
On Facebook, Dustin Ainsworth offers this Quotable Quote: ”
Kootenai County races. It’s hard to persuade someone to raise thousands of dollars, take 6 months of their life off, and expect to be beaten by 55-60% of the vote. But a situation like Phil Hart’s begs the question. Why not simply get someone to serve as a name holder — or place holder — in case the Republican melts down? The Demo wouldn’t have to raise all that much money or campaign hard. Just be there to hold a Republican accountable for his actions — or votes in the previous term — in debates and newspaper interviews. It’s next to impossible to try to defeat Hart with a write-in candidacy. I applaud Demo David Larsen for stepping up as a write-in candidate in the spring primary, so House Education Chairman Bob Nonini will have to explain some of his curious positions on education, including his behind-the-scenes opposition to UI’s attempt to sign a lease for a building in Coeur d’Alene’s future Education Corridor. It’s a shame to see Rep. Phil Hart, with his myriad tax problems, running unopposed in the general election — DFO.
contemptible, piffling. It comes to mind reading 
the judge. One of my Berry Pickers intercepted this mass-email SOS from “idahocolt”: “It looks like the Mike Jorgenson and his cohort D. Rasmussan another liberal RINO throwing temper tantrums about being unseated are at it again. Rasmussan is a very close personal friend of Dave Oliveria, The liberal conservative hating Spokesman review blogger that spews hate and garbage at anything considered conservative and liberty preserving. Right now they are after Phil Hart one of our very staunch states rights/sovereignty legislators. Please go this page 
thinking about upgrading our dogs. I’m 58, and it’s uncertain how many more puppies I’ll be around to shepherd into old age. So Victoria and I — who already have two other rescue dogs — started looking at Idaho breeders, and were ready to write a big check for the right purebred, papered dog. Didn’t happen. Last week we acquired Henry, a 2-year-old Shih Tzu/Lhasa apso cross, from the Meridian animal shelter. The adoption fee was $23.50. If there were ever a last-chance dog, it’s Henry. He’s a mess, with a pronounced under bite, matted fur and crooked teeth/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. 
politicians in financial trouble (Rep. Phil Hart, Canyon County clerk candidate Chris Yamamoto, Canyon County Prosecutor John Bujak, and U.S. Senate candidate Tom Sullivan) and concludes: “I think politicos should fully own up to their mistakes, humbly ask for the voters’ understanding, and let it go at that. In other words, they should behave more like their constituents. People who are victims of bad decisions, bad timing or bad luck. People who are stoically struggling through adversity.” Sullivan is a Democrat. The other three politicians w/financial problems are Republicans. 
A suspected second contract killer has been arrested in a murder-for-hire plot linked by authorities to the former Aryan Nations lawyer. Larry Andrew Fairfax was taken into custody Tuesday night in Coeur d’Alene and is suspected of planting the pipe bomb that was found on Cyndi Steele’s SUV earlier, according to U.S. District Court documents filed today. Fairfax allegedly had been hired by the intended victim’s husband, Sagle attorney Edgar Steele, to plant the bomb, which was discovered during an oil change/Spokesman-Review. 
all kinds of happy” because noted author/playwright Pat McManus bought her lunch (Tuesday). Seems McManus looked over her book proposal and pronounced it “brilliant, the best he’s ever seen!” And he sent along a glowing letter of introduction to make the rounds with her proposal as she goes in search of an agent.” Cindy’s compiling a book of love stories from the greatest generation (many of which you’ve read in Handle Extra and the Washington Voices). You can read her latest here: 
have happened in the time period besides the Idaho Meth Project. Sales of pseudoephedrine, a raw material used in meth production, began to be regulated at the state level and then federally (for large quantities). Communities started drug courts and other interventions to treat and prevent. And youth awareness campaigns through the meth project and others broadened awareness in kids. Success is not just due to the Meth Project which has received between $500,000 and $1 million in state money annually. Drug use prevention and substance abuse treatment, for meth and other substances, will continue to be needed. Our current state budget situation makes ongoing support difficult but essential.”
politicians about the challenges facing the working poor. Attending college can show them the difficulties today’s students encounter as they pay rising costs. Certainly, living on food stamps would enlighten any politician about how limited public assistance is in the Gem State. But it’s a stretch for Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, to claim his ongoing tax woes make him a better public servant. A third-term lawmaker unopposed in his bid for a fourth, Hart is a former tax protester who serves on the House Revenue and Taxation Committee. “I think it makes you a better legislator, to have these life experiences … ” Hart told the Spokesman-Review’s Betsy Russell. … Sure/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. 
those who missed it, federal bureaucrats in all their wisdom deemed the handicapped ramps on several St. Maries sidewalks inadequate. Observant readers know that many of the sidewalks scheduled to be dug up are only a few years old. They are the sidewalks that were replaced as part of the recent downtown improvement project. So not only are the sidewalks relatively new, they are in fine condition. But no matter. Apparently as long as China has money to loan Uncle Sam will borrow it. Sure. It’s true. Sometimes we exaggerate. Perhaps we are not being fair to the crackerjack central planners in Washington, D.C. who decided new handicapped sidewalk ramps were desperately needed in St. Maries, Idaho/Dan Hammes, St. Maries Gazette-Record. 
Steele described himself Tuesday as a “frail” and “elderly” man who’s undergone four surgeries in the past six months, including open heart surgery. He also blasted the federal agents for seizing what he said were attorney-client files regarding federal cases with pending appeals. The 64-year-old attorney, known for his unsuccessful defense of the Aryan Nations in the landmark 2000 case that bankrupted the racist group, represented himself during the hearing and pleaded “absolutely, completely not guilty” to a charge that he hired a man to kill his wife and mother-in-law/Meghann Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels. 
couple days ago, we stopped into Axel’s Pawn Shop on Sprague Avenue. A couple walked in the same time as we did, the guy holding a motorcycle helmet. They approached the man behind the counter. “Any chance we can sell this helmet? We need to get milk. And cigarettes.” “Sorry,” the man replied, “We’re loaded up on helmets right now.” The couple gave each other a frantic look, and then the woman said, “How about my wedding ring?” “Sure, let’s take a look,” the man said as he leaned over the counter. “Yeah, I’ll give you (whatever) for it.” “Great!” the husband exclaimed. “That’s perfect! Now I can still ride my motorcycle!”/Otis G, Otis G Experience. 
new report which shows that use of the harmful drug meth is down among Idaho teens is drawing praise from Gov. Butch Otter, whose wife, Lori, has been instrumental in the state’s effort to reduce consumption of the drug by youth in the state. The new report, released this week by the Centers for Disease Control, shows that between 2007 and 2009, meth use among Idaho’s teens dropped by about 52 percent, a rate five times higher than the national average. The report, officially known as the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, shows that Idaho held the top spot in the rate of decline of meth use among teens. Across the nation, there was a 10 percent drop in number of teens using meth/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. 
known for his unsuccessful defense of the Aryan Nations in the landmark 2000 case that bankrupted the racist group, pleaded with U.S. District Court Judge Candy Dale to release him from jail before next week’s bail hearing to tend to his clients and “put my affairs in order.” “I’m certainly no threat to witnesses or jurors and there’s no evidence, absolutely no evidence, to support that,” Steele said. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Traci Whelan told Dale that developments “within the last few hours” show Steele is “a substantial risk to the public,” and the judge ordered Steele held pending next week’s hearing/Meghann M. Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels. 
Taylor: I once mistook a black bear for my wife. Wait! Before you all hoot and holler and point fingers in my direction at what a bad husband I was, let me just set the scene. I was walking through a friend’s pasture along the Twisp River … the edge of the pasture dropped off sharply near the river. I espied the very top of a head full of (as I thought) dark hair at a spot near the swimming hole. Thinking that it surely must be my wife, I veered sharply in that direction and ended up face to face with a young black bear that was just as shocked as I was. We both froze for what seemed to be years. More below question.
legislative session to hold off the tax man four times in the six years he’s served as a state lawmaker, starting his first year in office; and here’s a link to a 
are having a record year for nuisance bear calls in Bonner County. Food sources were limited this spring and the bears are looking for anything they can find as hunger sets in. Common attractants include, garbage, bird feeders, and pet food. If they don’t find anything to eat at your house, they will move on. We can only hope this summer brings a bumper huckleberry crop to make the bears happy!!!!
altered their party’s platform to reflect their feeling on the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan. In the 2008 platform, delegates that they would like to see an end to the war in Iraq. That statement was changed last weekend to include the war in Afghanistan, despite objections from some party members. Chryssa Rich, representing Ada County, said in early platform meetings that the statement on withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan would contradict the philosophy of the party’s national figurehead, President Barack Obama, who, in December of 2009, announced plans to send 30,000 additional troops to the area to quell rising insurgent violence/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. 
Tilt-A-Whirl at Riverfront Park started out mellow, just a gentle spin. No problem. Then, the spinning began in earnest. Screaming followed. Not from the mouths of my fellow riders – Reagan, 4, and Abby, 6 – but from me. Foiled again. Last summer, I rode the park’s innocent-looking Berry Go Round and felt queasy for hours afterward. Every amusement-ride season I try once again to recapture the thrills remembered from the Jack Rabbit and Rock-O-Plane rides at the now-defunct Natatorium Park on Spokane’s North Side. As a child, I rode them for hours. Now, it’s once around in the Berry Go Round, and I’m done. I’m not alone/Becky Nappi, SR. 
his/her appointed round last night — and stiffed him a reward for a tooth that’s gone missing. One Facebook friend suggest that Christa help Junior look for the missing money today … and find it somewhere under the bed. But Christa reported that he’d made a thorough search before reporting the problem. Christa promised HucksOnline that Junior would get a double bonus when he checks under his pillow tomorrow.
Board of Tax Appeals isn’t the first time he’s invoked his status as a state legislator to hold off the tax man. In 2006, as a newly elected lawmaker with just one session under his belt, Hart came to Boise for a one-day special session called by then-Gov. Jim Risch. While Hart was in the state Capitol, an IRS employee snagged him and served him with a document subpoena. “They just caught me in the building. It was a surprise,” Hart said. “They just handed me some paper work and it was a summons, and that was that.” He protested, noting the state Constitution’s protection of lawmakers from civil process while in session, and the IRS served him with the same summons again in November during a face-to-face meeting/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
prosecutors want Edgar J. Steele held without bail before his trial on murder-for-hire charges. Steele, 64, was charged Friday - the same day prosecutors say he wanted an acquaintance to kill his wife and mother-in-law in a car crash meant to look like an accident. Steele is well-known from his work for hate groups such as the Aryan Nations and other high-profile clients, including the McGuckin family, who held off police during a 2001 Idaho standoff. He’s also known for vocal anti-Semitic and racist rants on the Internet. Steele unsuccessfully defended the Aryan Nations and its founder, Richard Butler, in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit brought against them in 2000. That loss ultimately bankrupted the Aryan Nations/Kathleen Kreller, Idaho Statesman. 
Police in Boise think they may have solved a yearlong condiment crime spree. Authorities say a 74-year-old woman arrested after pouring mayonnaise in the Ada County library’s book drop box is a person of interest in at least 10 other condiment-related crimes. Joy L. Cassidy was picked up Sunday at the library, moments after police say she pulled through the outside drive-through and dumped a jar of mayo in the box designated for reading materials/Meghann Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels. 
new laws affecting raccoons and wildlife causing damage were passed by the 2010 Legislature, approved by the governor and take effect July 1. Raccoons will be reclassified as predatory wildlife, which will allow raccoons to be taken recreationally in any number and at any time and manner not prohibited by other state or federal law. An Idaho hunting or trapping license is required to take raccoons. Raccoons remain classified as furbearers until July 1. Raccoon hunting regulations set no bag limits. The new status will also allow raccoons to be collected live from the wild and kept in captivity if consistent with local government regulations/Idaho Department of Fish & Game. 
Idaho state legislator is fighting the state Tax Commission over $53,000 in back taxes, interest and penalties, claiming in part that because he’s a legislator, he’s exempt from the deadlines for tax appeals that apply to all other taxpayers. Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, who also argued unsuccessfully to the Tax Commission that Idaho’s state income tax is unconstitutional, was notified on Oct. 2, 2009, that he owed the money and had 91 days to appeal. But Hart argued that time frame would run out 10 days before the start of the 2010 legislative session/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
challenger Jim Brannon to overthrow the Coeur d’Alene City Council election results. Brannon has asked Hosack to reconsider the ruling he made May 14 that Brannon hasn’t made a claim that’s sufficient to overturn the results in his five-vote loss to Councilman Mike Kennedy or the three other races on the municipal ballot last November. Also, the judge is being asked to rule on the request to intervene in the lawsuit by Bill McCrory and his wife. Also, Attorney Scott Reed, who represents Kennedy, and Mike Haman, who represents the city of Coeur d’Alene, have asked the judge to set a date for the trial.
Alison Boggs/SR (re: 
Moonlight’s corset is chafing, and her boots pinch her size-2 feet. She’s had a hard day of flying, shopping and dancing in the virtual world of Second Life.
Midwesterners tend, when outraged, to smolder deep underneath rather than to erupt publicly in loud, snarling hissy fits. We aren’t like some Easterners, who erupt in transparent anger at the slightest provocation. That may explain some of the bizarre misunderstandings between Barack Obama and media critics who don’t comprehend his failure to jump up and down and shriek like a little talking head when crossed by political adversaries or by oil company scoundrels. Easterners and Westerners seem to have evolved socially with different nervous systems/Bill Hall, Lewiston Tribune. 
themselves with the Tea Party movement and conservative causes getting long and lengthy ovations. More than 1,200 delegates wrapped up the three-day meeting Saturday in Vancouver, hearing speech after speech castigating big government and Democrats, who hold power in both Washington, D.C., and Washington state. Enthusiasm aside, the August primary and not party conventions will decide the candidates for November’s general election. “It’s time we the people had the courage and fortitude to take our country back,” U.S. Senate candidate Clint Didier told the gathering Saturday. “When I get to D.C., there’s going to be hell to pay”/Associated Press. 
of, if not the principle difficulty in getting old, is that I had absolutely no warning. It snuck up on me when I was not looking. Why, I ask is there not a training period on getting old. There I wuz skidding along in my middle age. I wuz (at least I thought I wuz) Cruisin’ along in my middle age, chasing fast women. Alas, I slowed down, falling out of the race. Now I’m faced with an old body and a mind that hasn’t shown any signs of growing up. Chasing fast women seems to be out of the question and slow women, especially those using walkers, object strenuously to being accosted in a suggestive manner. Woe Is Me!
conditions—with vuvuzelas blasting in both of our ears. Is everyone already exasperated with the Infamous Plastic Horn of Distraction? WE SAID, IS EVERYONE ALREADY EXASPERATED WITH THE INFAMOUS PLASTIC HORN OF DISTRACTION? There are reports that World Cup organizers are already considering a ban on the vuvuzela, the ubiquitous narrow instrument that’s making every contest in South Africa sound like a ferocious swarm of radioactive bees—or a Hollywood publicists’ luncheon. Vuvuzela-mania is threatening to drown out national anthems, quick-witted soccer chants and tender conversations about 19th century literature between U.S. and English fans/Wall Street Journal. 
the big business lobby (Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry), is holding its annual conference today in McCall, and the group announced that its three-day gathering, which started yesterday, was kicked off by Idaho Congressman Walt Minnick, who joined IACI Chairman Trent Clark. “We sincerely appreciate Rep. Minnick’s willingness to be part of our annual meeting with the membership,” said IACI President Alex LaBeau. “His office has been very responsive to employers and employees throughout the state. Idaho is well represented”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
wife of freshman Democratic Congressman Walt Minnick, A.K. Lienhart Minnick, handed out the first-ever “Not Sarah” award Saturday morning at the Idaho State Democratic Convention at the Coeur d’Alene Casino in Worley. The award was given to the party’s vice-chair Jeanne Buell, also of Worley, for her work within the party. Minnick, giving a speech to the Women’s Caucus at the convention, said that Buell is someone who inspires other women “without saying ‘you betcha,’” a phrase for which Republican superstar Sarah Palin is known. Minnick praised Buell for being someone who is well-read, inspiring, and actively working to improve the Idaho Democratic Party/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. 
$300,000 in tax liens (from 1997-2003 and two more recent years) almost slipped by – people get into financial arrears, on a basic level there’s nothing shocking there – except for a few points that should be noted before this slips away. One is that Hart is quite influential among very conservative Republicans; in the Panhandle, he’s among the must-get endorsements if you’re running with Tea Party and other very ideological conservatives. He has become influential enough that he was a key lever behind the ouster of incumbent Republican Senator Mike Jorgenson, from his district, by Steve Vick; the extent of Hart’s involvement has been 
extra mile for victims of crimes.” This, according to CPD Blue spokeswoman Christie Wood. Onward. Seems a Portland vegan biz owner didn’t fancy Crooker or his time spent serving his country as a Marine in the Iraq war as much as Sgt. Wood does. Crooker, who has worked for two years with the Portland department after spending seven with CPD Blue, didn’t intend to make headlines when he dropped by the Red & Black Café for a cup of joe in May. On the way out, Crooker was approached by a customer who told him she appreciated the hard job police do for the community – and then by café co-owner John Langley, who said he didn’t want a uniformed officer in the vegan shop/DFO, Huckleberries/SR. 
Rep. Phil Hart, R-Hayden Lake, to resign from the
House Revenue and Taxation Committee following a revelation by a writer
from the Spokesman Review that the IRS had filled more than
$300,000 in liens on Hart’s property for failure to pay taxes. Rusche, attending his party’s state convention in Worley, said that
though he wouldn’t call for Hart to resign from the committee, on which
Rusche also sits, he isn’t entirely comfortable with it. ”I see
significant problems in someone with those kind of problems helping to
craft tax policy for the state,” Rusche said. He said the he feels that
constituents in Hart’s district deserve proper representation and he is
unsure if Hart can provide that/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. 
family members of delegates as well
as members of the media Saturday. The move was initiated by party vice
chair Jeanne Buell of Worley, who said she was only moving forward with
closure due to concerns expressed to her by some delegates. Delegates and family members have spent Friday and Saturday at the
Coeur d’Alene Casino in Worley listening to stump speeches from various
candidates and re-examining the party’s platform in several committee
meetings. All meetings were open to the general public until Saturday
afternoon, when the party met as whole for a final time to decide what
it would put in its platform. As the meeting began, Buell said that
some delegates had expressed concerns to her about a member of the media
who had taped a speech by A.K. Lienhart-Minnick earlier in the da/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. 
(re: U.S./Britain World Cup soccer match today): Dear Doodle Friends… England Are Gonna Stuff Your Football Team Today In
The World Cup… You Had All Better Get Back To Stuffing Donuts….. You Do
Know Real Football Is Played Without Helmets And Padding Like That
Namby Pamby American Football Game You Have :) - Be Prepared To Be
Slaughtered Big Time…. It Wont Mean I Love You Less Though… :)
Steele is well known from his work for hate groups such as the Aryan Nations and other high-profile clients, including the McGuckin family, who held off police during a 2001 Idaho standoff. He’s also known for vocal anti-semitic and racist rants on the Internet.The witness told the FBI Steele paid $500 in cash for travel expenses and promised as much as $25,000 if the murders were completed on Friday. According to the affidavit, Steele promised the witness another $100,000 if an insurance policy paid out after his wife’s murder.
directors will start evaluating replacements for Boise State right away. Reports have mentioned Montana, a member of the Big Sky Conference, as a possible candidate. Akey said the Grizzlies make sense for the WAC geographically. Yet moving from the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) to the NCAA’s highest division is “quite an expenditure,” the UI coach noted. Asked about the perception of the WAC now that Boise State is leaving, Akey said, “To really give you an answer on that, we’ve got to see where we are when the dust settles.” Then he joked: “If Boise is the only team that has left and we replace them with Notre Dame, I think we’re going to be perceived as being a pretty strong conference”/Josh Wright, SR. 
boat is fully loaded with two fireplaces,
three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two elevators, a special pool, wheelchair
accessible hallways and glass deck railings. The price tag for “Monty’s
Cruisin’” is around $1.6 Million.“We’ve been really blessed that
we had the opportunity to build a boat that’s handicap accessible who
we love very much,” Don said.”Monty’s Cruisin’” was designed and
named after Don Gross’ son. Gross, who runs a mental health care
company, says his 39-year-old son is confined to a wheelchair because of
a debilitating illness.“It was a labor of love for their son. It
was an amazing story. It got us. It was inspiring,” Bill Hill said/Tania Dall, KXLY. 
Worley this weekend for their state convention) to use in both
campaign material and public policy work in the future that he believes
will make them stand out to voters in the state. Smith said that
Democrats should engage in “economic gardening,” a process of investing
in local businesses instead of working to attract outside companies to
the area, as well as lead the state in looking for water infrastructure
projects for the future. Democrats should also look to makeIdaho
schools more energy efficient, Smith said, by using public bonds to fund
projects and then use savings in the energy costs to fund the bonds.
Smith also believes that Idaho Democrats could gain notoriety by
encouraging public schools to use locally-grown food in cafeterias,
which, he said would create jobs and provide more nutritious foods for
students/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. 
The IRS has filed nearly $300,000 in new federal tax liens against Idaho state Rep. Phil Hart in the past year, five years after Hart said he’d reached an agreement to repay $90,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest. The new liens, filed in Kootenai County, cover the tax years from 1997 through 2003, plus 2006 and 2008. They are against anything Hart owns or has rights to, including real estate, cars, business accounts receivable and more; such liens go on credit reports and can keep a delinquent taxpayer from getting a loan, signing a lease or obtaining credit. Hart said, “I will eventually get through this, so it’s the motivation to get through it, I’ll put it that way. It’s like running on the beach where the water’s up to your knees.” But, he said, “I think it makes you a better legislator, to have these life experiences. … You get first-hand dealings with the bureaucracy, see how they operate, see how they interpret things, experience the process.”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
of a SUV and was carrying 7 or 8 very fine looking walking sticks. I recognized them as mine, and was very intrigued. She told me her sister was going out with this guy and eventually broke up with him, as he was a bit wild and ended up in jail for something. But, her sister also mentioned that he was one of the guys that stole some sticks from the Stickman about a month ago that some of you might remember. This really pissed off this young woman, as she knows who I am and what I do. So, the both of them went over to his apartment and found about half of the sticks that were taken from me that night and took them, and she brought them to me yesterday. 
Wright/SR SportsLink (via Twitter): Robb Akey on changes to WAC: “If we replace (BSU) with Notre Dame, I think we’re going to be perceived as a pretty strong conference.” Akey, of course, was joking about Notre Dame. But he does see WAC adding another school. Also worried about losing La. Tech down the line. … Also, Josh reports: Rob Spear says UI’s non-conference schedule is booked through 2012. Playing BSU “will have to be in the future.” So no UI-BSU until 2013.
got end of the year presents today (and earlier this week)…Diet Coke and Oreos and a movie gift certificate (from a mom who obviously knows me very well. Thanks, Alyson.), a Willow Tree trinket box, a basil planter, a Scentsy candle and burner, a set of watering bulbs (from the mom who knows that I do not have a green thumb), a shadow box with teacher stuff, and a huge, beautiful hanging plant. All mighty fine gifts, I think.
interrupted by a band of swashbuckling salty sea dogs, as the Pirates of the Caribbean culture craze spreads from the high seas of Hollywood to the forested shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene. “The resort has been doing scenic lake cruises for years, so this year they decided it would be fun to try out a Pirate-Themed Summer Cruise,” says Jillian Kramer, production director (and Director of Entertainment at the Lake City Playhouse). This isn’t your average troupe of circus-sideshow wannabees — more than 60 actors auditioned, Kramer says/Blair Tellers, Pacific Northwest Inlander. 
is no exaggeration to say that the BLACK HAPPY REUNION SHOW is the biggest music event happening in Spokane this summer — even if you don’t know who the hell they are. Fifteen years have passed since the CdA/Spokane band broke up — 20 years since its first show. And Paul Hemenway, singer/guitarist for the band, says they thought that mile marker was a great reason to do a reunion. “All eight original band members will be together onstage for the shows, so it’s great for us to reconnect as a band and play together again,” he says. So far two of the Seattle shows — on Aug. 20 and Aug. 21 at the Crocodile Café — are sold out. A third was added last week (and was not sold out at press time). The Spokane show will be held at the Knitting Factory on Aug. 6. (Tickets are still on sale at 
the Mountain West announced. A press conference is scheduled for noon. The school sent a release with comments from several officials: Mountain West Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson “We are pleased and excited to welcome Boise State University to the Mountain West Conference. Since our inception just 11 short years ago, the Mountain West has experienced tremendous success, and the addition of Boise State will further enhance that strength. The MWC continues to strategize regarding potential membership scenarios and bringing Boise State into the Conference is an important part of that evolution”/Idaho Statesman. 
it to church on time. Same route with the same irritating Sunday drivers. But two weeks ago, our Sunday sameness was interrupted. “Look at that guy!” my husband exclaimed. A car had stopped in the middle of Lincoln Road and a man was standing near the driver’s door, talking to someone. That someone was a small boy wandering down the center of the street. I wondered if his kid had jumped out of the car, but the boy seemed confused and wary of the man. We pulled up beside him and turned on our flashers. “I’m getting out,” I said. The driver seemed relieved as I approached. “Is this your child?”/Cindy Hval, Washington Voices. 
Dustin Ainsworth: “The COEUR Group is working with the city and the KCDog Park folks to install the fencing on the 2-plus acres of property designated for our soon to be dog off leash dog park. The Coeur Group is in charge but we can use as many good volunteers as possible for two days (tomorrow & Saturday, June 19) . All the materials are ready and we are set to roll. Tomorrow we are installing all 90-plus posts and then on the 19th we are hanging the fencing. It is all done with volunteers. The location is Nez Perce and Atlas Road, just south of Kathleen Avenue. We will begin tomorrow at 8 a.m. Anyone with fencing experience and leveling tools is welcome.
Facebook, CindyH was wondering re: who put the “chat with me about produce” sign on her back? Continues Cindy: “Seriously, can’t I just buy some bell peppers and mushrooms without hearing some lady’s “secret to sweet stuffed peppers” recipe or being engaged in a debate by a young man reeking of eau-du-Keystone, regarding the merits of sliced vs. whole mushrooms? I mean I haven’t e
the Senate, while Minnick averaged roughly $30,000 a quarter in his first 15 months in office.” Not only is Minnick supposedly a profligate, he’s accused of hypocrisy too. Except for one thing: What this “a free news service that provides comprehensive, factual, non-opinionated and non-ideological coverage of state government” failed to mention was that Minnick hasn’t come close to spending the wads of cash his Republican predecessor, Bill Sali, burned through by sending out his junk mail to voters. Sali, the one-termer Minnick defeated in 2008, spent $214,249 - 15 percent of his office budget — in 2008 and $112,424 in 2007/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. 
Spencer 
was married I use to own with my tosser X a small plant nursery, so the lads would just come with us to work, even from babies they would sit amongst the plants whilst we worked…. so they all had a go at munching insects … until … We taught them that slugs were our biggest enermy … and as they got bigger they were shown that if you see a slug and you stand by the side of it and then stamp with all your weight half way down the body of a slug … the guts and insides would shoot out at great speed and the skin would be left intact on the ground — I remember them gathering the slugs and lining them up opposite each other and playing WAR against each other … slugs guts flying everywhere :)
Conservative Blogger in a post Thursday. “I was however surprised when Sen Mike Jorgenson lost his primary race a few weeks ago. I met Jorgenson at Austin Hill’s Take Back America Town Hall on KIDO and listened to his views on Arizona’s new Immigration law and what he thought Idaho should do. For awhile Jorgenson seemed to be the flavor of the week. I also read Phil Hart’s reaction to Jorgenson’s stance. I felt Hart made good points and that a good compromise between the two looked promising. But I did notice what seemed to be friction. Do I think this was Jorgenson’s problem getting re elected? I wasn’t sure so I hit the research and here is what I found, you decided for yourself.” 
Aw, the memories of my children, when they were little boys. I spent many laundry afternoons carefully examining all the little pockets that they would house their precious critters, stink bugs, bugs that roll up into little tight balls, worms, still wiggly, lady bugs that would gasp for life and light, crickets, grasshoppers, and one little water snake that made me want to quit the search and just wash the bugs, but I have to put them outside where they belong. Empty nest means so much more than it should.
man named Steve in the Coeur d’Alene area has a life-size Yoda for sale on Craigslist for $1500: “This is an extremely rare, life size Yoda statue that Pepsi had made for the Star Wars release. It is sturdy and heavy. There is one other of these in the nation that is for sale on ebay for $2,750 plus $250 shipping and handling for a total of $3,000!!!!!!! Here is an opportunity to purchase this masterfully created piece of Star Wars history for half that price and be able to pick it up locally! If this does not sell within the week then I will be moving it to ebay so get it while you can!” 
1 (North Idaho). Which is interesting because he DIDN’T vote in the recent GOP primary. Bonner County Clerk Marie Scott confirmed for HucksOnline that Spencer is registered to vote in her county. But he didn’t do so. Nor did he seek re-election to the Bonner County GOP Central Committee as the committeeman from the Cocalalla precinct. Kootenai County Clerk Dan English told HucksOnline that Spencer isn’t registered to vote in Kootenai County. Your Huckleberry Hound didn’t check with the clerks of Boundary, Shoshone, or Benewah counties to see if the peripatetic Spencer is registered to vote in those counties. According to a Berry Picker, Spencer may have the votes to win the North Idaho chairmanship over two possible rivals.
bringing an end to a long process, lame-duck Commissioners Rick Currie and Rich Piazza outvoted Commissioner Todd Tondee today to approve a site-disturbance permit for a roadway through a frequently flooded, contaminated property along the Coeur d’Alene River near Medimont. The proposal, from developer/realtor John Beutler, would provide new access to an unbuilt subdivision along the River. Community members and environmental interests (including KEA) opposed the project as unnecessary in purpose and problematic in its design. More to the point, the County simply shouldn’t be permitting permanent roads in an area which floods frequently in non-extraordinary high-water events. Especially when 
The only truly urgent need for a locksmith I can recall was the morning before my wedding when I awoke after the bachelor party to the realization that my dear groomsmen, friends from college (also asleep at my house) really could not remember where they put the key to the lock sitting on my ankle, which was attached to a poorly cured concrete ball. Cute. I was able to smash the concrete ball to bits on the curb, but the lock was another story. Can’t remember which locksmith we used, but they took care of the problem after giving me a raft of grief.
he and Sweet Stephanie accumulated during the last 8 years in Denver. On Friday, they will point their vehicle southeast to begin a 3 or 4 day road trip to Gainesville, Fla., where, God willing, Junior will complete a residency in neurosurgery at University of Florida 7 years from now. All of which reminds me of the great adventure that Mrs. O & I started two weeks shy of 33 years ago from central California. I’d never heard of Kalispell, Mont., until shortly before I was offered a job with Duane Hagadone’s Daily Inter Lake in June 1977. My wife had never seen the Flathead Valley until I drove our rental truck down H93 into it. I often wonder what life would have been like, if I’d resisted the Big Sky call. It’s been very interesting as is.
Minnick or go out and campaign for him, provide the army any candidate needs on the ground? (Don’t expect more than a handful of Republicans to go that far.) Can Labrador bring in support from across his party that runs deeper than lip service – that involves cranking in serious money and serious organizational help to match up with Minnick’s resources? to these and other relevant questions, we have no solid answers yet. We can only watch and see; but the race may turn, in at least in part, on the answers. This remains, then, one of the most watchable races in the Northwest/Randy Stapilus, Ridenbaugh Press. 
Councilman MikeK plea (via Facebook): “Does anyone know of a good certified locksmith in CdA or Post Falls that works
weekends and doesn’t request a child in exchange for lock work? (I do have
spares to offer, but we want to keep them, thanks).
too bad that John Foster, whom I admire greatly, has chosen to take issue with the results we’ve produced over the years. As he and anyone else with even a scant knowledge of political polling knows, a poll is simply a “snapshot” of attitudes at the time of the research, and is NOT a prediction by any means. Just like consumer attitudes, voter attitudes do in fact change and adapt due to a number of variables. Further, if one bothers to look at the entire report that was produced in 2006 discussing the aforementioned results, you’ll see that I fully indicated that (1) I felt Sali would be in trouble as November approached (for which I received a great deal of grief from Sali and other Republicans), and (2) I also felt that Otter would in fact surge in the remaining days/weeks”/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. 
Citing budget woes, the commissioners for the Timberlake Fire District voted to fire Chief Jack Krill (pictured) and negotiate a management contract with Northern Lakes Fire District. Kirk Quillan, the commissioner representing Bayview explained that the move is strictly budget driven and not about performance. With the polarization of the last year, this is going to be difficult for many to swallow. With management shifting to Hayden, local supervision will not be quite the same/Herb Huseland, Bay Views. 
volunteer at Sagle Fire on occasion, and like to bring back meals for the fellows on duty, when I get to Spokane or Post Falls, or CDA. After another volunteer firefighter and I completed our chores in Post Falls and CDA, I said I would treat for a meal at the new restaurant. We got sampler plates and liked everything they prepared. I ordered a meal for 4 people, as there are usually 3 regular paid firefighters on duty, plus at least 1 volunteer. I asked them to prepare it for a trip back to Sagle, with a stop at the CDA Costco store. The waitress that served us packed a really nice meal, and found a large aluminum turkey pan, which she filled with ice, and the meal, and covered it extensively with aluminum wrap. The BBQ meal was fine after nearly 2 hours of shopping and driving back to Sagle/Jim, Get Out! North Idaho June edition. 
and keep us from running a strong program,” Akey said in an Idaho release. “Our APR will continue to improve. I believe we are doing a good job of managing it.” Two years ago, the Vandals operated with 76 scholarships – nine below the maximum of 85 – after Akey had booted nearly 20 players from the team following his arrival prior to the 2007 season. While announcing his ’08 recruiting class, the coach was critical of the system the NCAA set up because UI was being punished for trying to clean up the program. “This is not what this rule, I don’t think, was intended to do,” Akey said then/Josh Wright, SR SportsLink. 
however. One month before Minnick ousted Republican Bill Sali from the seat in 2008, Smith’s polling among 200 likely voters in the district found that 
ink and bandwidth. Set aside for a moment his years of inaccurate predictions. On their own, his most recent two polls should provide a clear answer to anyone who is uncertain as to his accuracy. Before the primary he had Walt at 50 percent among GOP primary voters, and now claims that, in a matter of weeks, Walt has fallen to half that support among ALL voters? That is a massive drop in a very short amount of time, with no explanation. In other words, not statistically possible. (I know, Hucks readers — you were told there would be no math.) Greg’s methods deviate from widely recognized standards, his polls are available to the highest bidder (I know because he has pressured me for a year to hire him for Walt’s campaign) and of dubious value to political watchers and media organizations. People should trust their instincts and ignore him once and for all.
Here is great deal for BBQ fans… ever want to be a certified BBQ judge — FOR FREE? Here is your chance… The 
Two local high school baseball players were selected on the final day of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday. … Devon Austin, a catcher from Coeur d’Alene High School, was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 45th round. He signed to play college baseball at New Mexico State, so he also has the option of going to school or turning pro/KREM2. 
Mansfield, the businessman and blogger who helped revitalize the primary campaign for Republican congressional nominee Raul Labrador, has resigned from campaign efforts. Mansfield told IdahoReporter.com Monday that his tour of duty with the Labrador campaign is officially over and that candidates are being interviewed to take over where he left off. Mansfield was one of the men behind Labrador’s come-from-behind victory over Vaughn Ward in the May 25 Republican primary election. Mansfield, who ran for Congress in 2000, endorsed Labrador on his personal blog in mid-April and offered his services to Labrador’s campaign/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. 
children, including a 9-year-old from Spokane, traveling on Delta as unaccompanied minors were put on the wrong connecting flights and ended up far from where they intended to travel, an airline official said Wednesday. The mix-up Tuesday at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, where the children had connecting flights, was blamed by Delta spokesman Paul Skrbec on a “paperwork swap,” sending the boy to Cleveland rather than Boston, and a girl to Boston rather than Cleveland/Paul Walsh, Minneapolis Star-Tribune. 
associates of an ex-Coeur d’Alene methamphetamine dealer serving 13 years in federal prison were sentenced to their own prison terms this week. Brenda Barron, 46, is at the Sea Tac federal prison in Western Washington. Now her daughter, 25-year-old Amber Larsen, is set to join her in the federal system, along with Coeur d’Alene residents Harold R. “Hank” Dillon, 41 (bottom left); Daniel Napier, 46 (bottom right); and Paige M. Rathburn, 24. The four were sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Coeur d’Alene after pleading guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute/Meghann Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels. 
rookie Golden Tate was a little late for National Doughnut Day, which was last Friday. And he arrived a little too early for Top Pot Doughnuts cafe in Bellevue. It doesn’t open until 7 a.m. on Saturdays. So when Tate and a friend found their way into the cafe at about 3 a.m. on Saturday, timing became a problem and precipitated a visit from the Bellevue Police officers and a warning for trespassing. So what prompted all the trouble? Maple bars. Freshly baked. “They’re irresistible,” Tate said. “It was kind of a foolish mistake that won’t happen again.” At least not while the store is closed. “If you ever want some maple bars, that’s the place to go,” he said. Somewhere, Homer Simpson just drooled/Danny O’Neil, Seattle Times. 
Idaho football team will be limited to 79 scholarships — six below the NCAA maximum — for 2010 because of its performance in the latest NCAA Academic Progress Rate report. Meanwhile, Boise State led the WAC in football, men’s basketball, men’s tennis, men’s track and field and men’s cross country. … Idaho highlights include a 1,000 single-year APR for men’s basketball, women’s cross country, women’s golf, women’s swimming and diving and women’s volleyball. Overall, men’s basketball had a 922, football had a 908 and women’s basketball had a 954/Chadd Cripe, Idaho Statesman. 
neat, with the waterfalls and meandering sidewalks leading to cozy nooks and shady areas by the pond. We have a genuine asset in this public space, it was amazingly well done. Kage, maybe you don’t know any teenage or 20-something girls, but I do know a few and can tell you that Zumies and Buckle are THE hot places to buy trendy clothing and sunglasses in town, and they are always busy. Red Robin is constantly hectic as is the theater and the Riverstone Starbucks. The Mill bar has live music and DJs on the weekend, and the closest parking spot is often a block or two away because the place is so crammed with revelers. More below.
looking for summer jobs are running into a wall. Teen hiring in May – typically the kick-off for seasonal jobs kids get to save for college or pay for fun – was worse than it’s been in more than 40 years. Grant Gillies and Caleb Peck decided to hire themselves. Gillies, 18, and Peck, 19, have a classic summer job – mowing lawns, doing yardwork – but they’re giving it a professional gloss. They have a business name, GNC Lawn Care, and are adding equipment as the calls come in. “We’ve been very busy,” said Gillies. With some hustle and hard work, the two longtime friends and 2009 Mead High School graduates are circumventing a problem facing a lot of their peers – a historically bad job market for the young/Shawn Vestal, SR. 
leaders have made it clear they’re not interested in extending anti-discrimination protections to the gay and lesbian community. At the start of 2009, I watched members of the Senate State Affairs Committee barely give Sen. Nicole LeFavour (pictured, via Wikipedia) the courtesy of their attention before quickly voting against printing her bill to amend the Idaho Human Rights Act to include LGBT protections in the workplace, education and housing. A week before LeFavour was shot down by her fellow senators, the Idaho Human Rights Commission — an organization tasked specifically with “ensuring that all people within the state are treated with dignity and respect”—voted against supporting LeFavour’s proposed legislation/Rachael Daigle, Boise Weekly. 
many illegal immigrants are there in Idaho and what is their cost to the Idaho taxpayer? Experts say determining how many illegal aliens are currently residing in the state is difficult. According to sources interviewed by the Idaho Freedom Foundation, those estimates range as low as 40,000 and as high as more than 100,000. And, according to the Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform (FAIR), the estimated cost to Idaho taxpayers, even if the number is as low as 40,000, is $195 million/Jay Howell, Idaho Freedom Foundation. 
KeithinCDA: I think we’ll be making an announcement via Mr DFO in the next day or so plus I want to confirm with the Stickman that he is cool with it (I actually already know he is!). Having cracked another newly capped bottle tonight, everyone that happens by will love the beer by the way. :)
dear reader, is where I exercise my research abilities - can anyone say “Poli Sci Major” - and google me some goat milk factoids. Read it 
A Yelm man was tased twice on Tuesday morning after a Thurston County sheriff’s deputy interrupted the man having sex with a woman outside of a house in the 14000 block of Vail Cutoff Road. Patrick Bergin, 21, was arrested on suspicion of third-degree assault shortly after 2 a.m., according to Thurston County Chief Criminal Deputy James Chamberlain. The deputy spotted the couple having sex in the lawn while responding to a noise complaint at a house on Vail Cutoff Road. More below.
Jamie Morgan: Yes, there can be too many (Mexican restaurants). At some point I would like to have someone be more imaginative and try something new. We have very few REALLY good restaurants and the rest are mediocre and have the same menu’s. When travelers or new people come to town I get tired of just asking: Steaks, Oriental, Mexican, or Italian. Here are your “buttzillion” (my new word of the week quoted from my 8 year old) choices.
Organizers of a Fourth of July fireworks show in this northern Idaho lakeside town say the economic downturn will force them to scale back on the 30-minute spectacle of lights. John Hunt of the Sandpoint Lions Club says the fireworks show can cost up to $35,000, which is a price tag that major sponsors of the event in the past can no longer afford. This years fireworks display in Sandpoint will likely be shortened to about seven to 10 minutes/Bonner County Bee. 
U.S. Senate nominee Tom Sullivan is taking heat for withholding information about his business tax troubles, from his party’s leadership, and from Idaho voters. But Sullivan did discuss some of his tax problems in a May 7 Statesman editorial board interview (here’s a link to the audio; Sullivan discusses his tax troubles about three-fourths of the way in). We should have followed up during the interview, and we should have incorporated the information into our May 18 endorsement in the Democratic primary. We often take elected officials to task for failing to exercise due diligence. In this case, that criticism applies to us/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. 
victim of a road rage incident last week in Spokane misstated the circumstances that led to both his legs being partially amputated in a car crash last winter. On June 3 Cody Balka participated in an interview 
name will sound familiar, and much of the menu will remain the same, but the new owner of a downtown cafe will soon spice up the fare and make a slight name change to the business. After being closed for several weeks while final papers were being prepared and signed, Alex Galindo reopened what is now Cafe Bella Rosa, which for the past five years has been Bella Rose, at 213 Sherman Ave. While the signature pastries, coffee and breakfast and lunch dinners will continue, flavors from south of the border will also be added. “I am going to incorporate a Mexican menu,” Galindo said/Rick Thomas, Coeur d’Alene Press. 
the 
Townsend: As I write McEuen Field outside my office is filling up with kids from the Sorenson Magnet School having a field day, to mark the end of school, I assume. Ah, to be a fifth-grader again full of energy and creeping hormones. Of course there were heartaches then, too. Like when that first crush led to nothing and you found out “she didn’t like you that way.” I wonder if it is harder to be that age now?
survey offering five choices and the majority outcome was that teachers preferred to continue with the current schedule of collaboration as it is presently implemented. The school district’s survey was a hobson’s choice of a Monday morning or Wednesday morning preference. Many teachers requested permission to write in their vote of “keep as is” but were denied the ability to do so. (More below)
to open a large animal veterinary clinic with an eye toward moving to the area permanently. Rammell, 49, confirmed by telephone Monday that he and his wife, Linda, and one daughter will arrive in Kamiah today and begin operating a mobile veterinary clinic from his pickup truck. “I kind of fell in love with the area, to be right honest with you,” Rammell said. “They have a shortage of large animal veterinarians in that area. And so I thought we’re coming up to check it out to see if we want to build a house”/Kathy Hedberg, Lewiston Tribune. 
exception with Craig running as a “fiscal conservative” while using the congressional franking privileges to send out more than $132,000 worth of taxpayer-funded mailings to constituents. Minnick, during his first year in Congress, has used more than $150,000 for taxpayer dollars to frank, though his campaign spokesman points out that he has used that money for more direct forms of communication as well, such as telephone town hall meetings. Staffers for Minnick’s electoral opponent, Republican Raul Labrador, say that Minnick is using the franking privilege for political purposes/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. 
on his arm. It was not large, but the first thing I said was, “When was the last time you saw your doctor?” It had been over two years. I told him to make an appointment for a full physical, and to be sure to bring up the mole. Compared to women, only half as many men visit their primary care doctor every year. Men are more likely to consider the emergency room or an urgent care center their usual place of health care or they never go to the doctor at all. These are expensive and potentially deadly habits. Some men are breaking these habits and getting routine physicals. Often this is because someone in their life urged them to do so, like me telling my friend to go/Dr. Alisha Hideg, SR. 
More Info: Classes will begin later on the first day of the school week next year in Coeur d’Alene. Trustees voted at their Monday board meeting to start school an hour later on Monday mornings beginning next fall. The change will allow teachers collaboration time within their contracted work hours. Superintendent Hazel Bauman (pictured) and all five trustees said they’ve each heard concerns about the change from teachers, parents and employers, but Bauman recommended they try the new schedule for one year.
flower decorations, purchased for $25 to honor fallen loved ones on
Memorial Day but now missing from gravesites at three Spokane cemeteries. Then Monday morning, someone spotted a woman selling the colorful planters –
sans the American flags – on a north Spokane street corner for $5 apiece. An employee with Catholic Cemeteries of Spokane staked out the sale until
police arrived and determined that, indeed, the for-sale planters had been
pilfered from the diocese’s cemetery system. Employees recovered 61 stolen planters. They aren’t sure how many of the 758
purchased since April 15 may have been looted/Meghann Cuniff, SR. 
I posted an article from the Oregonian re: a vegan shop co-owner asking Portland police officer James Crooker (pictured in Oregonian photo to left) to leave because he wasn’t comfortable with a uniformed cop being in his business. Crooker worked for seven years with the Coeur d’Alene Police Department before accepting a job with the city of Portland. Now, I have the back story on the incident which went viral after blogger Cornelia Becker Signeur wrote about the incident. Signeur and her daughter were in the Red and White cafe when the shop co-owner asked Crooker to leave (after the officer had purchased a cup of coffee). Signeur retells what happened in a post, titled “Where’s A Police Officer to Get a Cup of Coffee” 
tomato plant on Saturday. But all three are planted in the garden (despite my wife’s instruction to toss the parsley plants b/c she doesn’t do garnish on her various dishes). I thought I’d purchased a chilantro plant to go with the parsley. But the cilantro was MIA when I started to plant my haul. So was the rosemary I thought I’d bought. Sometimes, I can become so self-absorbed when I’m shopping — or attempting to shop — that I’m surprised I make it through the checkout counter in one piece. I’m intrigued the the chocolate tomato plant. Bent tossed it into the mix after I’d purchased four other tomato plants (4 for $7) from his wife’s Mostly Sunny booth at farmer’s market Saturday. I don’t think I’d have bought it otherwise. Chocolate and tomatoes seem to be a contradiction in terms. I plan, however, to baby that plant to the max because I want to sample the fruit sometime this August. If it tastes like a chocolate-covered cherry, I might invite you over to try it out.
right, I’ve finally figured out how the city’s budget works. The city gets in trouble, looks around for an easy target, spies the Spokane Public Library and hacks it to death. Really? This is the best way to dig out of a budget hole? Maybe I’ll go to the library and study this some more. So here I am at the library, and the place is buzzing. It’s jammed with people reading, working on school projects, writing notes on index cards, checking out romance novels, applying for jobs on computers and just generally coming in out of the rain/Jim Kershner, SR. 
the personnel policies of KREM-2. At least in the case of Nadine Woodward (pictured), KREM-2 TV she was allowed to give the viewers a bit of notification that she was moving on. However, in the case of Jason Kadah, last week he was there and the today he is gone. I spoke with KREM-2’s staff this morning and confirmed what I suspected since last week. Morning Meteorologist Jason Kadah is gone. No reason is given; just that he will no longer be broadcasting his odd brand of humor mixed with weather in the morning on KREM any longer/David Laird, Community Comment. 
by challenging a friend to eat an 18-Wheeler — a 2- pound patty, a quarter pound of bacon, a quarter pound of cheese, pickles, special sauce and a custom made bun, from Wheeler Restaurant in Nampa. 
mainstream Republicans for control of the GOP central committees in Twin Falls, Ada and Canyon counties, it’s hard to escape one conclusion: We, as a state and as a society, have forgotten how to disagree without demonizing. Politics has never been pretty in Idaho and in America, but there used to be civil dialogue. Nowadays, there’s neither civility nor dialogue. Are we better or worse off for that? You be the judge. On the national level, we have a government approaching gridlock. In Idaho, many of our elected officials are Republicans who not only won’t talk to Democrats, but won’t work with Republicans they don’t believe are Republican enough/Twin Falls Times-News. 
you probably know, Cindy sequestered herself in a North Idaho hideout while working on her book. Upon returning home, she encountered irrefutable evidence that the 5 males in the household were somewhat lost without a woman’s influence. For example (via Facebook), Cindy suspects her “eating at the table only” rule was violated repeatedly in her absence. The evidence? Only one dirty place mat in the laundry. There’s usually at least 10, according to Cindy. Who also suspects the “no television- no scratching of private parts- no belching or farting during meals” rules have been broken. Quoth Cindy: “Without the presence of a woman men tend to revert to their pre-housebroken condition.” What do you think? 
though, new threats to achieving this vision (for Cougar Bay’s future) have surfaced. One threat involves removing log storage pilings and booms from the mouth of Cougar Bay. Currently, they deter high-speed boats and personal watercrafts from entering Cougar Bay. Another proposed intrusion is to install moored overnight docking facilities at the bay’s entrance. A third proposal that occasionally emerges is to dredge the bay, removing its plants and deepening it. Finally, proposals to haul and store docks and other equipment in Cougar Bay have been made and heard by the Idaho Department of Lands. This agency regulates lakebeds and issues surface water leases. Many people have worked diligently and hard to preserve Cougar Bay’s wetlands and hillsides so this community has natural sanctuary available for low-impact uses, wildlife, and its children/Wes Hanson, KEA Blog. 
White House reporter 
the season for graduations, baby showers, weddings, etc. And for invitations that may or may not require gifts. My wife and I have fielded more invitations that usual this spring/summer, from nieces, nephews, children of friends, and in some cases children we watched grow up in our church in families that have become somewhat estranged. Usually, we send $20-25 to each, and sometimes more depending on the occasion (college graduations get a little more than high school graduations, depending on the relationship to the graduate; marriages, of course, get a nicer gift than a wedding or baby show). I’m not sure what the etiquette is with gifts or cash? (SR File Photo: Jesse Tinsley)
like dogs. While many spouses claim they’ve been treated like dogs for years and it’s no picnic, that’s not what the experts mean. People are often more forgiving, patient and loving with the furry beasts with whom they share their household, they say, than with their mates. Pets throw up on the couch, pee in the house and steal food from the countertop. Yet while we get angry, we seldom let such misbehavior erode our adoration for the neurotic mutt. Our mate leaves the toilet seat up, strews his underwear on the floor and belches in public and we bellow: “Hey, Hagar, you want to live like a pig, move out to the garage”/Kathy Hedberg, Lewiston Tribune. 
woman credited with saving young Shasta Groene from serial killer Joseph E. Duncan has endorsed and will attend the annual Officer Newbill Kids Safety Fair here today at the Eastside Marketplace. Amber Deahn, a former Coeur d’Alene Denny’s restaurant waitress, gained worldwide media attention in 2005, after she recognized 8-year-old Groene in the company of Duncan and stalled them until authorities could arrive and make an arrest … Deahn now lives in Moscow with her three small children. In addition to starting her own nonprofit foundation called Guardians of Innocence, she has joined ranks with Jon Kimberling, a local insurance agent and former city councilor, to promote the safety fair as another means of educating people to the ways of pedophiles and others who prey on children/David Johnson, Lewiston Tribune. 
I can only make a comment: One thing that people do not know is that there is no way a person
can pass the test unless (Rally Right organizer Bob Pederson) wants them to. Since Bob grades the test,
the ultimate pass/fail depends on whether Bob likes you or not. Nothing
is objective. If Bob likes you you pass. If Bob does not like you you
fail. Your belief system ultimately has no bearing. Normally Bob will
not make any inquiry into a person’s belief system. It is all about
Bob. Always has been, always will be
can Tom Sullivan handle the taxpayers’ money when he
can’t handle his own? The Tetonia businessman, who won the Democratic primary election
on May 25 and will challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo in the
fall, owes the Internal Revenue Service and the Idaho Tax
Commission hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes. “I have this hanging over me, but there are an awful lot of
people in Idaho that have this hanging over them,” Sullivan told
the Idaho Statesman. “I’ve lived it. I understand it. I’ve climbed
out of it. I’ll do it again. And I’m going to help Idaho do it,
too.“ We don’t find his logic persuasive. Sullivan owes the IRS between $470,000 and $525,000 and the
Idaho Tax Commission between $215,000 and $220,000. He was recruited by the Idaho Democratic Party to challenge
Crapo, but he didn’t disclose his debt until just before the
primary/Twin Falls Times-News Editorial Board. 
Facebook, Nic Case/
morning traffic was backed up and at a standstill on the Interstate when out of the blue one driver got out of his car, walked up to another car and started throwing profanity and punches at the other driver. As Cody Balka and his fiancée were driving into Spokane to pick up a prescription he says another driver picked a fight. “Guy behind us flipping us off and trying to hurry us along,” Balka said. For five miles Balka and his fiancée endured tailgating and profanity tossed at them from another car. Then the other driver decided to up the ante. “He got out of his car, ran across and started yelling at me, reached in and tried to hit me,” Balka said. So Cody called 911 and police arrested Scott Cramer within a couple of blocks from the scene. Cramer claimed that Balka got out of his car and tried to start a fight with him/Sally Showman, KXLY. 
District Republican congressional nominee Raul Labrador says incumbent Democrat Walt Minnick’s modified line-item veto bill is a PR ploy and replacing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a Republican is the most important step to end deficit spending. In a news release Thursday night, Labrador said, “I recognize the public relations value of Mr. Minnick’s claims, particularly this close to a tough election. But the simple fact is, the only thing that is going to stop this horrendous flow of red ink is a change in political leadership. The most effective thing we can do to arrest the irresponsible spending of this Congress is to take the gavel away from Nancy Pelosi. And Mr. Minnick is unwilling to do that”/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. 
only have they (Jai Nelson & Phil Hart) been dating for some time (about two years), but if you’ve seen the flyer distributed on Sunday prior to the election by Citizens in Action — a Rally Right-like organization with common elements — you’ll see that Nelson is endorsed by them. While it’s hard to quarrel with this group’s stated values, their tactic of distributing flyers (8000?) on car windshields in church parking lots is questionable, if not unethical, or perhaps even illegal. This tactic bears the signature of one Jeff Alltus, and others (Spencer? Hart? Pederson?) And … if any of the churches were complicit, they jeopardized their tax-exempt status!
Republicans retained control of central committees in Ada and Canyon counties, despite an organized effort by Ron Paul Republicans to purge the party of “Republicans in Name Only,” or RINOs. The upstarts held “Operation: RINO Hunter” meetings in an attempt win the balance of power by electing the precinct committeemen and women who make up county central committees in the May 25 primary. A leader of the effort, Ron Paul Republican Ryan Davidson, was defeated by Ty Palmer as state Youth Committeeperson, 59-42. Palmer is the son of state Rep. Joe Palmer of Meridian. Davidson is a former Chairman of the Idaho Libertarian Party and advocate of marijuana legalization/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. 
CindyH (via Facebook): Ack! My doorbell rang and I anwered it. It was teenage girl selling magazine subscriptions so she can earn a trip to Europe or something. To add insult to injury she said, “Hope I didn’t wake you.” I’ve been up for 5 hours! Why do I do this? I can let my phones go to voicemail but the dang doorbell gets me every time. (And then of cours…e I just wasted 3 minutes facebooking about the doorbell). Argh …
mid-May, Portland police Officer James Crooker (formerly of the Coeur d’Alene Police Department) went to Southeast Portland on a patrol call. With a few minutes to spare, he decided to get a coffee. So, he popped into the
are what we consider not just effective but appropriate uses of the Internet to sway public political opinion in opposite directions. They’re appropriate because the sources were steadfastly identifiable and responsible. But not everyone lives by these standards. You may not see the termites, but you can detect them from the rotting wood of blogs and online comments including sites like this newspaper’s. The upside is anyone is free to express an opinion. The downside is that the vast majority choose to do so anonymously, rendering their opinions roughly equivalent to termite scat. And now the termites are busy here. There’s an e-mail campaign that links to a website established to unseat Sheriff Rocky Watson (pictured) in 2012/Mike Patrick, Coeur d’Alene Press Editorial Board. 
It
sounds made up (National Donut Day). But (today’s) sugary celebration is
actually a real holiday. In fact, since 1938, the first Friday in June has been
celebrated as National Donut Day. Its beginnings were sweet and meaningful…and
its modern-day meaning is pretty sweet too. National Donut Day now means a
free-sugar-crawl around town grabbing up all of the free donuts that national
and local chains offer. The holiday was initiated by the Salvation Army as a nod
to the women who served donuts to soldiers during the first World
War/RedPlum. 
years of losing circulation and treading water, The Spokesman-Review has rebounded somewhat to land among the top 5 newspaper audience gainers (print and online circulation), according to the Growing Audience blog. In fact, the SR is No. 4 w/a 10.4% growth from March 31, 2009 through March 31 of this year. The Deseret News of Salt Lake City leads the pack with 22.25% growth. This, according to an analysis of the most recently released ABC FAS-FAX data by the Newspaper Association of America (which) identified the 25 newspapers with the largest increases in combined print and online readership. … To make the list requires some success in both print and online. A closer look at the numbers generally reveals that almost all of these newspapers had at least modest gains in daily and Sunday print readership and substanital increases in online readership. 
Bioinformatics and Evolutionary Studies (IBEST), just had this research 
Duke has several goals for her three-day gig at Interplayers, “An Intimate Conversation: Patty Duke,” starting tonight: 1. She wants it to be like a live, local version of “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” with local actor-director Reed McColm playing the James Lipton role of host. 2. She wants to connect, in a neighborly way, with her fellow Inland Northwest residents. 3. And she wants to help Interplayers raise plenty of cash. “We were a little audacious in thinking that an evening with Patty Duke could make some funds for the theater,” she said with a laugh. “I’m hoping it will. “You know, I have loved all of the theaters in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, and I don’t want them to go anywhere”/Jim Kershner, SR. 
True, there have always been CC members who don’t pull their weight and make it a social club, but that’s not going to change. This was all about making sure Bob Pederson’s chosen, pure minions took charge. I’ve come across enough people who’ve been asked by Pederson or his followers if that person is saved. And it isn’t enough to just be saved, certain denominations apparently don’t count. What’s that got to do with getting Republicans elected? Oh yeah, it’s about getting the “right” kind of Republican, but the standard for that is highly subjective.
On Facebook, Julie Fanselow posts this re: e-mail etiquette: “
Deanna Goodlander: Yes, the goats (grazing on city-owned property on northeast corner of roundabout @ 4th & Mararet) are on the city payroll. Its difficult to control weeds around the water wells. We don’t use pesticides that could be contaminates. The goats are a new thing and the Water Department is renting them from the owner. This is an experiment and we will see how it works.
He’d been tagged plagiarizing material from other Republican congressional offices and campaigns for his website issue positions. Next, he was caught echoing Obama, hardly a popular figure among the Republican electorate who would decide the congressional primary election. Had the video shown him stealing Reagan’s words and had it been an isolated event, it would have been laughed off. Don’t forget the medium beyond this message. In years past, putting together a clever video that resonated with voters required someone with technical expertise and access to expensive equipment to produce it. Plus you needed money to get the spot on television. Baumbach’s effort represented the antithesis of that scenario. Video technology has become democratized. The Internet offered a free, independent means of delivering that message/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune
But then last night, there was another moment as well (thanks to Mike Lupica for spelling it out here). It was the moment that the pitcher turned to the ump who made the wrong call and - smiled at him. It was an awkward smile, followed by a pulling of the cap and a return to the mound, to finish a game that ought to have been finished already. But that smile - that grace, to react with a smile and not a shout - was a moment in time that makes baseball something else - reminds me that baseball is a game of moments, of opportunities to play above and beyond just the mechanics of the game/Beth Bollinger, Accidental Rabbit Trails. 
Saturday at the 2010 National Beard and Moustache Championships in Bend, Ore., my immediate thought was … Have terrorists slipped Rogaine-laced LSD into the Bend water system? Then I gave it some thought and tried to be more open-minded. First off, we now live in an age where fame can be achieved by ramming the most tube steaks down your gullet at one sitting. Competitive beard growing by that standard is an Olympic sport. (It is a more natural form of curling.) And second off, this is Spokane. We need every whisker of attention we can muster in this civic stubble field/Doug Clark, SR. More here.
talk to and try to comfort family members… only to come back to the station and hear people making insensitive comments about what I had just seen and felt in the field. We don’t have that in our newsroom now, thank God. But we do have people who are passionate about their jobs and can’t help but feel proud when we do things well and do things right. In these situations, no matter how busy they are, we still take the time to make sure we’re being as sensitive as we can, yet still fulfilling our obligation to keep the community informed. My boss and I were reviewing video and pictures as they came in (before they hit air) so we could decide if they were appropriate or not/Melissa Luck, KXLY. 
was craving a brick-oven pizza from the Loading Dock downtown, and since I was doing some errands, I drove on toward town from Wal-Mart to get it. Looking down at my speedometer, between Yoke’s and Co-Op, I noticed 50 mph and immediately slowed down but not before the Ponderay cop saw me too. She wheeled around in the highway and proceeded to follow me with no light. She didn’t really need to flash it cuz I knew I’d been had. I pulled into the nearest wide spot just past the Y and on went the lights. It’s been a long time since I’ve been stopped, so I did okay with the driver’s license but stress set in when she asked for the registration and proof of insurance. I hadn’t opened that glove compartment for months, and I remember the last cop stop when I kept handing the officer my Les Schwab envelopes/Marianne Love, Slight Detour. 
more likely to learn of interesting websites while I’m on the web, but today I found this website over morning coffee while looking at the Idaho Statesman. 
My issue with Minnick is that by most definitions he, like most of the Blue Dogs, are not really Democrats. They all should have been honest and signed up as independents, since they don’t seem to fit in either party. That way we would have know what we were getting…truth in packaging, so to speak. Don’t believe I will have the stomach to vote for him next Nov. Will leave the blocks blank.
The last county administrator, Tom Taggart, played a large part in making the county government well-functioning and responsive. People like Tom don’t come around every day (or often, he’s among the best I’ve ever known) but professionals with creativity and diplomacy do exist and can help. Things haven’t worked as well in his absence over the last years. I really hope the county goes to a paid administrator sooner than later. Not sure that Taggart would be interested in a sequel but I’d ask him first if I were the commissioners …
net taxable value of Kootenai County declined in 2010 for the third straight year, following a huge spike in value from 2005 to 2007. The value peaked in 2007 at $16.6 billion, reflecting assessments in 2006. This year, that value dropped to $12.6 billion. “We saw a more rapid incline than other counties in the state. We’re now seeing a more rapid decline,” said county Assessor Mike McDowell. However, he said, the market is stabilizing following the dramatic run-up in values. On Tuesday, the county mailed 85,691 assessment notices to property owners, reflecting estimated values as of Jan. 1. McDowell’s staff analyzed 2,565 sales that occurred in 2009 to establish the values, he said/Alison Boggs, SR. 
are seemingly as many opinions about metal bats as there are blades of grass in Harris Field. Some would say they rob the game of its romance and tradition. Others would argue they add excitement to a traditionally slow-paced game. One school of thought says they are a crutch for collegiate athletes that ultimately hobbles them when they try to go pro, while another says they allow players to be their best. But most notable recent controversies surrounding non-wood bats involve safety. Detractors contend a ball hit off a modern non-wood bat is moving so fast that players, coaches and officials in its way don’t have enough time to react/Joel Mills, Lewiston Tribune. More here. (Lewiston Tribune photo)
in my youth, I hiked regularly with my scout troop. But the packs we lugged around back then were basically the equivalent of a medieval torture device, designed to bruise kidneys and misalign your thoracic vertebrae. Jump forward 30 years, and I found myself reluctantly shopping for a new backpack at 
is on track for an economic recovery in 2011, according to the state’s 
Kellogg is cutting its funding for a lot of sports, which fills up the room at school board meetings with concerned parents, of course. But it’s also saving $84,000 – of more than $800,000 in cuts – by closing the Silver Valley Alternative School. Thus far, concerned citizens have yet to crowd the school board’s schedule. This is unfortunate, because alternative schools are a crucial piece of the puzzle for plenty of kids – those with troubles at home, problems studying or behaving, or simply carrying the stigma of being unconventional/Shawn Vestal, SR. 
in Idaho’s 1st Congressional District may assume they face a choice between a Republican and a Democratic incumbent who votes like one. But do they? High-profile votes against economic stimulus, federal health care reform and federal spending blur the line separating Blue Dog Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick from his Republican colleagues, U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson and Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch. Because of that record, Minnick has won accolades from groups such as the Tea Party Express. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” redefines that line. Last week, Minnick joined 229 Democrats and just five Republicans who voted to repeal the 1993 law. Simpson voted against the change/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. 
Ehredt and Ernie Stensgar could not be more dissimilar. The former is an uber-conditioned ultra-marathoner. A white guy and former postal clerk running across the country. The latter is more than a decade older, a Coeur d’Alene Indian to the core, a Marine awarded the Purple Heart after getting shot in Vietnam. They have never met, even though Ehredt, as part of his coast-to-coast journey, Project America Run, ran north on U.S. Highway 95 right through Plummer, Idaho, in mid-May. … Ehredt and Stensgar do share one thing: Each has altered our concept of Memorial Day. (Actually, they share two things, as both are military veterans)/Kevin Taylor, Bloglander. 
associated with “being leaded” discourage parents living in the Bunker Hill Superfund site from getting their children tested for lead exposure, says a new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Parents felt “blame, shame and guilt” if their kids had elevated blood-lead levels, the research indicated. They also feared that a child identified as having a high blood-lead level would become a target of public ridicule. “Being leaded” is a derogatory term in the Silver Valley, where some families have worked in the mining industry for five or six generations. Anonymity is difficult in small towns, and kids with high blood-lead levels could be stigmatized, the study said/Becky Kramer, SR. 
depending on the issue before us. For instance, if smoking dope or engaging in homosexual acts is your only passion in life (the only matter you feel strongly enough about to rise from the Barcalounger and vote ove) libertarian is the church for you. In theory, they are very sympathetic to dope smokers and gays. In practice, we don’t find them pushing nearly as hard for cultural liberties as they do for total economic licentiousness. But at least they talk a good live-and-let-live theology, even if they aren’t in any apparent rush to enact it/Bill Cope, Boise Weekly. 
“disapointment” Raul? Don’t you belive in equal rights for all humans? Don’t you, as a minority, understand that “Dont Ask, Dont Tell” is liken to the “Build a Fence and Ship em Back” mentality? And for Dennis Mansfield, who I know reads this blog, please inform your candidate that I voted for him in the primary not because I was opposed to Ward but because I believed Raul to be more level-headed and educated that “Shout louder” Ward was. Oh, and I’m openly gay. Am I to understand that Mr. Labrador does not want my vote in the general election? Because I’d be happy to give it to Congressman Minnick.
On Facebook, CindyH is thinking about condiments. Seems she has a friend whose spouse hates mustard. Posts Cindy: “I love mustard in all its various incarnations, but mayonnaise? That viscous, slimy, quivering white stuff is a bane to the discerning palate. Do you suppose people feel as strongly about catsup or is it only condiments that begin with ‘M’?”
extirpated in large parts of its historic range — the 
Labrador, the Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s 1st District, is critical of Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick’s vote on legislation that could repeal a policy preventing gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. Minnick voted in favor of a plan to end the don’t ask, don’t tell policy. The change would go into effect if a survey conducted by the armed forces determines that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would not be disruptive. “Mr. Minnick’s vote is a disappointment to me, and disappointment for most Idahoans,” Labrador, a state representative from Eagle, said in 
The 2010 Trails and Bikeways Master Plan is on the agenda for approval. Can be found at 
On Sunday, my family and I attended the Denver exhibition of Body Worlds, a traveling exhibition of preserved human bodies and body parts that are prepared using a technique called plastination to reveal inner anatomical structures. Wikipedia reports: “The exhibition’s developer and promoter is German anatomist Gunther von Hagens, who invented the plastination technique in the late 1970s at the University of Heidelberg.” Bodies, sans skin, were displayed in various poses, including a male on skates lifting a female over his head as though spinning on ice; a female shooting a compound bow; and a gymnast vaulting backward. Incredible stuff. Ditto Mrs. O. But the exhibit has been banned in some countries at some times by judges who believe they defile human remains. You can read about 
am not the last one standing … Gone but hopefully not forgotten. Not as formerly done … Gone fishing. Closed shop for the summer … All good titles for this last regular post of the blog. I have decided to let the blog go for the summer. Maybe be back in the Fall … I might leave a post from time to time, if something strikes me worth writing about. Might add pictures from time to time … Just that regular posting just isn’t fun any more. And I said I would quit if it wasn’t fun anymore/Cis, From A Simple Mind. 
A Butterfly Moment: Do not, for the sake of your child’s teacher’s sanity, call and ask for a meeting with said teacher and the principal without leaving at least a vague idea of what the meeting is about. It will make the teacher nervous to the point of being sick and unable to eat her leftover pizza for lunch. 
could be the Spokane HotZone Museum. City and business leaders started the free wireless Wi-Fi area in 2004, eventually creating a 100-square-block area across downtown Spokane. Today the zone is on its last legs. People can find the signal most of the time, but frequently it’s a weak Internet connection. That is, when they even bother looking for the signal at all. In today’s mobile-device world, the idea of a wide-area metro wireless area has largely fallen into the technology irrelevance pile/Tom Sowa, SR. 
Aside from some scarring on his fingers and a missing big toe where 7,620 volts of electricity exited his body, Tig Cornell has fully recovered and is ready to return to work. “Everybody’s pretty much told me that I’m lucky,” he said. “Everything just happened to work out perfectly the day that it happened.” The 35-year-old Avista lineman was severely burned on Jan. 27 while his crew was repairing power lines along the 2700 block of Sixth Avenue in Clarkston. Cornell, who is from Genesee, said he has absolutely no recollection of the day of the accident or the week after it happened. “I lost seven days where I don’t remember anything,” he said/Kevin Gaboury, Lewiston Tribune. 
Egan 
news that Texas education leaders have overhauled textbook requirements has alarmed some educators and politicians. But the news is frightening only if you’re under the false impression that textbooks our kids use are anything close to accurate today. Of course, that’s not the case. Not by a long short. Our children are being fed a steady diet of statist propaganda, and from that, it is little wonder why our country has veered so far to the Left. The design is in the coursework and intentional indoctrination of our children/Wayne Hoffman, Idaho Freedom Foundation. 
on my Southwest Airlines flight No. 918 who reminded everyone as we were landing in Spokane that (Monday) is Memorial Day. She then asked all the vets to punch their call lights in their seats to allow other passengers to know that they’d served their country. The loaded plane then burst into applause. Additionally, the veterans were asked by the stewardess to de-plane first. Wonderful return to our area. The pouring rain after the Denver sunshine didn’t diminish that moment in the friendly skies.
1,912 less games than former star catcher Mike Piazza, but he’s never been named to a Major League Baseball all-star game. But that didn’t stop emcee Andy Finney from introducing the Kootenai County commissioner as “Mike Piazza” recently. Now, you have to make allowances for Andy’s mistake. After all, the commissioner was also listed as “Mike Piazza” in the recent program honoring Father George Rassley at Holy Family Catholic School for his many years of service to his faith and the local community/DFO, SR Handle Extra. 
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