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Archive for September 2011
Two co-workers have been in the CdA bureau of the SR longer than I have — Mike Mahon or circulation (about 5 years longer) and Greg Lee (2 weeks longer). After today, that number drops to one. Mahon has taken early retirement and ends his lengthy service to the newspaper after his shift's over today. We had a lot of laughs. A lot of bantering involving sports teams. And an occasional missed newspaper. He'll be missed. Mucho. Now for your daily Wild Card …
A man prepares to take pictures of his son in front of a straw figure, that stands by the roadside near the town of Molodechno, 70 km (46 miles) north-west of Minsk, Belarus, Friday. Satw figures are installed to mark the agricultural holiday of the end of the harvest on state collective farms. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Washington state’s minimum wage will rise to $9.04 next year, keeping it as the highest hourly rate in the nation. That’s a 37-cent-an-hour increase, which is based on a change to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, according to the state Department of Labor & Industries. Washington voters approved an initiative in 1998 tying the state minimum wage to inflation/SR. More here.
Question: Is Washington's minimum wage too high? Or is Idaho's minimum wage (federal minimum of $7.25) too low? Or both? What would be a perfect minimum wage?
Chet Robertson, a range rider in the Big Hole Valley in Montana, keeps an eye on the cattle and an ear out for wolves. (AP Photo/Wildlife Conservation Society via The Billings Gazette)
Gov. Jerry Brown makes it clear to KABC-TV reporter Nannette Miranda that he was not going to talk about his package of pension changes following a Capitol news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday. Brown, who had been talking about the upcoming prison realignment, said he would be willing to discuss his pension plan Friday, but not today. Miranda said she would be off Friday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Top Cutlines:
A week ago, Linda Lantzy/Idaho Scenic Images decided to test out her new 8mm lens at Palouse Falls on the way to the Tri-City area. Linda: “8mm is overkill, but I don't plan on using it for landscapes anyways. My 16 doesn't allow for the entire scene here.”
HucksOnline numbers (for Wednesday): 9206/5555; and (for Thursday): 8014/5106
Tampa Bay Rays catcher Kelly Shoppach, left, celebrates his three-run home run with Ben Zobrist (18) and Casey Kotchman, right, as Texas Rangers catcher Mike Napoli (25) prepares for the next pitch during the third inning of Game 1 in baseball's American League division series playoffs Friday in Arlington, Texas. The Rays lead 6-0 in the 5th inning. ESPN running boxscore here.(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Question: Anyone have a dog in this World Series hunt?
“You should not hike alone without bear spray,” a ranger says. This is more imperative than suggestive. “The bears are active right now. They’ve re-colonized areas where they used to roam.” Wyoming has about 600 
grizzlies. I tell her I’ve never hiked with bear spray, but the ranger is insistent. I go to one park store, and then another, but find the shelves empty. There’s been a run on bear spray. Finally, after calling around, a clerk finds the cylinder that will provide an illusion of comfort, the last one available. When a grizzly (capable of top speeds of 30 miles an hour) charges, you are supposed to stand your ground, flip the safety from the top, point and spray. This fog made of the essence of hot cayenne peppers is apparently enough to send a 500-pound mammal back in cowering retreat. So it says. ¶But the bear spray is $52. Mmmmm. That seems confiscatory. But no, it’s the going rate. So, quick math: how much is a life worth? And, how stupid would I be to give it up for want of $52/Timothy Egan, New York Times. More here. (AP file photo — of Yellowstone bear)
Question: How much do you rely on bear spray in grizzly country?
Re: Moscow High footballers concerned about homecoming game against No. 1 Coeur d'Alene
Greg Lee/SR provides the latest on Moscow's reluctance to play Coeur d'Alene in next Friday's Vik Homecoming Game:
Fourth District Judge Timothy Hansen has ruled against the Idaho Education Association, upholding the constitutionality of SB 1108, the piece of state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna's “Students Come First” three-part school reform package that limits teachers' collective bargaining rights, ends an early-retirement incentive program and makes other changes. The IEA sued, saying the bill unconstitutionally violates existing contracts, in part by retroactively ending them; Hansen ruled that it imposes “substantial impairment” on existing contracts, but that it's not unconstitutional because it does so for a “legitimate public purpose,” in this case, giving school boards more power in bargaining with teachers. He also rejected arguments that the bill was unconstitutional for addressing more than a single subject/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Surprised?
Living with a chronic auto-immune disease like lupus can feel like free falling through a medical minefield. Pain, frustration and fear are natural reactions while holding onto hope for more effective treatment and an eventual cure. Hope is one reason Spokane’s Cindy Stroup leaped from an airplane over Shelton, Wash., on Aug. 20 to join hands and feet with 25 other female sky divers in a record-setting formation. Jill Barville SR story here. (Courtesy photo: Cindy Stroup)
Question: Most of us don't know a thing about certain diseases, like lupus, until we (or a family member) are afflicted by it. I, for example, didn't know what retinal blastoma (eye cancer) was until it afflicted a family member. Now I know that it hits 1 in 100,000. Is there a strange-sounding disease you're more familiar with as a result of an encounter that is/was too close?
GirlFridayCDA: Just curious … is there some rule that says you HAVE to be affiliated with a specific party to run for office? Seems to me the party lines are so blurred and muddled anymore what difference does it really make…unless you don’t really pay attention to the issues and only vote based on party affiliation. I choose to be “unaffiliated” and “unimpressed.”
Question: Anyone else “unaffiliated” and “unimpressed”? (Also feel free to answer Girl Friday's question re: political qualification for office)
Stebbijo: I think the city should ban cigarettes for sale. While they are at it, they should also ban potatoes and 
cheese. Then, everyone will be so happy! However, when this happens you cannot clap about it because clapping is also banned. If you are caught smuggling any of the goods in from the State of Washington or growing spuds in your garden, you will suffer the consequences of mandatory cholesterol screening for 6 months at your own expense and a diet of romaine lettuce for 6 months with probation visits to Weight Watchers. It’s for your own good. A new judicial court will be formed to take on the excess of violators. It will be called the Physical Health Courts.
Question: What would you ban in Coeur d'Alene, if you were the despotic king/queen of the place?
Reagan Repub: By the way, Amber Copeland was the real suprise of the Pachyderm debate. She made one 
heck of a introduction to North Idaho politics. Even with nerves, she was articulate, informed, personable and funny. I did not think she would be a factor in this race until this morning. Now I am not so sure. She probably did not sway any votes this morning because the Pachyderm club is conservative Steve Adams country, but she sure could give Bruning a run for his money in his base among working and young Democrats and independents in south and midtown Coeur d’Alene. She will make this race interesting.
DFO: If people take the time to meet Amber Copeland and Adam Graves, they might discover some of the new faces bring a lot to the table. I still don't know a thing about Derec Aujay, Annastasia Somontes, and Pat “Mitch” Mitchell, though.
Question: Who will Amber claim votes from — John Bruning or Steve Adams?
Republican Sen. John McGee lives 26 miles from Boise but takes a per diem payment of some $6,000 extra from taxpayers for a second residence — even though he lives with his parents in their Boise home during the session. Another Idaho Republican, Sen. Curt McKenzie of Nampa, took the extra per diem during the 2011 Legislature while sleeping on his law firm's couch. Some lawmakers say it's appropriate to take the extra cash only if they are actually paying for a second residence/AP via KREM. More here.
Question: Ah, is this right?
Protester Jessica McPhail, tearfully tears down signage, ordered by the Spokane Police Department, at the corner of Riverside and Monroe, near the Spokane Club this morning in Spokane. Occupy Spokane, the two-day-old action in solidarity with the two-week-old Occupy Wall Street protest against economic injustice, was visited this morning by police enforcing a city ordinance. Kevin Graman's SR story here.
… that, when questioned, Councilman John Bruning told the Pachyderm Club that he is a Democrat. But council candidate Amber Copeland refused to state which party she belonged to. In the comments section, Amber writes: “What I said was that city council is a nonpartisan race and that I choose not to participate in making it a partisan race by dislosing what party I am. I stated that it was public record and anyone who was that interested was always welcome to get the information.”
Question: What would you tell an activist Republican who demanded to know what party you belong to?
A Berry Picker just received this email from Lake City High (note the boldface item): LCHS is Pre-selling tickets for the FB game Friday night for the Post Falls Game in the office. ALL K-8 students not accompanied by a parent will be charged $10. Prices are as follows: $5.00 for adults & high school students without ASB, Grades 6-8 with ASB $2.00 – without ASB $3.00 – grade K -6 $1.00 Seniors & pre-school free! Lets go Cheer on the BOYS!! Go-T-Wolves!
Berry Picker: “Just got an email from LCHS on pre sale tickets for tonight's Lake City Post Falls. In looking at it I wondered if it would be a good topic for the HB gang. how much should students pay to go see a local football game?I especially like the “ALL K-8 students not accompanied by a parent will be charged $10.” wonder why they are gouging that group.I've always felt funny having to pay to see high school games especially if my kid attends the school, but, I understand they need the cash just feels funny.”
Question: Dunno if this is a misprint. If not, it seems odd to me, too, that Lake City High would charge unaccompanied K-8 twice as much as an adult to see a high school football game. Do you agree?
Update: Mayor Bloem tells HucksOnline that she has no rule against clapping at Coeur d'Alene council meetings. However, she does insist at “emotionally charged” meetings that the audience refrain from clapping, stomping its feet, and other outbursts. Quoth: “It distracts from what the council is trying to hear.”
I couldn't resist this bit of silliness from Mary souza by OpenCDA.com either. Seems the townspeople of Peekskill, N.Y., are livid that they're no longer allowed to clap at City Council meetings. The mayor of the town is invoking the rule as an attempt to bring decorum back to the meetings. Contrary Mary points out: “That’s been the rule here in CdA throughout Mayor Bloem’s reign.” (I applaud Mary for reining herself in and not saying “reign of terror” in referring to the Bloem administration.) Can you blame anyone for trying to rein in incivility at Coeur d'Alene public meetings?
Question: What do you think of the no-clapping rule?
There had been talk in the Moscow community about the possibility of canceling or forfeiting the school's 
October 7th game against Coeur d’Alene. KREM 2’s Chris Nguyen spoke with Moscow Principal Bob Celebrezze today. Celebrezze was adamant that a forfeit had not been discussed, but he did acknowledge that the school had some concerns about the game. He chose not to elaborate on what exactly those issues were, but said “we have been talking with Coeur d’ Alene administration about our concerns about the game, and that's all I can tell you”/Chris Nguyen, KREM. More here. (SR file photo — of Coeur d'Alene High coach Shawn Amos)
DFO: HucksOnline heard through the grapevine Thursday morning that Moscow is expected to tell Coeur d'Alene late this afternoon whether it'll play the game or not.
Question: Should the 5A schools in North Idaho try to reinstitute football games with bigger schools in the Spokane area?
Orbusmax provides HucksOnline with another reason why Moscow has gotten cold feet re: the homecoming game at Coeur d'Alene High next Friday. The Viks are ranked No. 8 high school football team in the West by USA Today:
New Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, kisses his wife Deanie Dempsey after being sworn during a 'Change of Office' Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ceremony today at Ft. Myer in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Don't look now, but Coeur d'Alene attorney Starr Kelso has filed a brief appealing the 1st District Court 
decision against his client Jim Brannon in the never-ending 2009 Coeur d'Alene municipal election case. This, according to OpenCDA.com, the Kelso-Brannon PR wing. Bill McCrory reported on the appeal three days ago (which goes to show how often I check in on OpenCDA.com, as amusing as it can be at times). McCrory called the brief as “a road map to guide the Idaho Supreme Court justices through the 2,676 pages of documents in the trial court record, 111 exhibits consisting of 563 pages, 876 pages of trial transcript, and transcripts of numerous other hearings held before and after the trial.” You can read more about this latest waste of court time and resources here.
Reaction?
For all the complaints about city budgets being stretched to the limit, our local governments here in Idaho are 
at the forefront of growing the nanny state with as much gusto as the federal government. Examples abound in just the last month. Example one comes from the city of Boise, where statists (those people who believe in and worship the power of government) are contemplating a ban on smoking in local bars. … Not to be outdone, Sandpoint is where city officials have passed an ordinance banning the use of cell phones while driving — whether talking or texting. That's apparently because the police chief thought it was too hard to just ban texting — so now every activity in the phone-car continuum is now illegal. If you're in Sandpoint, beware. Even if you're not hurting anyone, you're now a criminal/Wayne Hoffman, Idaho Freedom Foundation. More here.
Question: Do you consider actions taken by city councils in Idaho against smoking and cellphones to be part of a “nanny state” mentality?
I received this note from City Administrator Wendy Gabriel moments ago: “This morning, Steve Adams, Coeur d’Alene City Council Candidate, said in a Pachyderm meeting held at Jonsey’s that he requested to attend my individual department head meetings regarding the 2011-12 budget. He said that I stated he could not attend, and that I stated only union members were allowed to attend. His statement is not true. Attached is my emailed response to him. ” Click here.
Born and educated in the United States, how did Anwar al-Awlaki, a charismatic Muslim cleric, go from “all-American boy” to a terrorist spokesman and recruiter for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula? His killing, 
announced Friday, is seen as a hit against al Qaeda's recruiting and fund-raising. The transformation from an imam who originally condemned the 9/11 attacks to a key al Qaeda operative took place over a number of years, as the war on terror expanded and as he found himself caught up in it. Al-Awlaki was regarded by the United States as one of the biggest threats to homeland security. Under his guidance, AQAP attempted to blow up a plane over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009 and in October 2010 dispatched two printer bomb packages from Yemen's capital, Sanaa, that were timed to explode over the Eastern seaboard of the United States, U.S. officials have said/CNN. More here.
Question: You ever feel like breaking out into refrain from “Wicked” at times like this — you know, “Good news, (another) wicked witch is dead”?
Bertha Swan, front left, attends the installation of three dolls at the Visitors Center at the Cataldo Mission in Cataldo Thursday. Swan is the great granddaughter of former Coeur d'Alene Second Chief Peter Wildshoe who was commissioned by The Smithsonian to craft the dolls in 1901. Alison Boggs' SR story here. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)
Item: Doing their homework: Cd'A school officials compiling IB, AP data/Maureen Dolan, Press
More Info: School officials in Coeur d'Alene are working to compile data that will provide a cost analysis and 
in-depth student performance review of the International Baccalaureate Diploma and Advanced Placement programs. Much of the information was specifically requested by school board Trustee Tom Hamilton. But it's slow going. Associate School Superintendent Matt Handelman said the district isn't trying to hide anything, but gathering much of the information requires time-consuming “data digging” and “data mining.”
Question: Is this a witch hunt or a legitimate exercise to ensure that these programs are effective and cost productive?
Two juveniles who attend Sadie Halstead Middle School in Newport have been identified as the persons behind two bomb threats at the school.On Thursday September 22 a bomb threat was found by school officials in a bathroom, prompting an evacuation of the school and a search of the building by Pend Oreille County Sheriff deputies. Nothing was found during the search and school resumed.Then on Tuesday September 27 a second note was found, again in a school restroom, stating the school was going to blow up. This time the note was found after school had ended for the day.In that instance, an explosive detecting K9 from the US Marshals Service was brought in to do a search but nothing was located/KXLY. More here.
Question: Crimestoppers has offered a reward for the individual(s) involved in the bomb threat at Lake City High this week. What should be done with individuals found guilty of this crime?
Item: Alleged racial taunts lead to confrontation/Coeur d'Alene Press
More Info: A 24-year-old man was cited for misdemeanor battery Saturday, stemming from a fight the alleged victim told police started from racial taunts. Adam T. Burrington, who was cited for the incident that took place in the front yard of a house in the 1100 block of 15th Street, denied racial insults were ever used, and said that he, not the alleged victim, was the one attacked.
Question: What do you make of this incident?
Clay Bennett/Chattanooga Times Free Press
First, let's have a moment of silence for all those fans of the Atlanta Braves & Boston Red Sox who had their hopes dashed by the monumental collapses of their teams this month. Now, onward. The Major League Baseball playoffs begin Friday. And I have absolutely no dogs in the hunt. I guess I should support Arizona, which supplanted my S.F. Giants at the top of the NL West. But I won't. Call it sour grapes. Now, for your daily Wild Card …
A cyber security analyst work in the watch and warning center during the first tour of the government’s secretive cyber defense lab intended to protect the nation’s power, water and chemical plants, electrical grid and other facilities on Thursday in Idaho Falls. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
DFO: I should get Kathy Plonka to take a photo like this of me. It'd be a way cool new avatar.
Question: How many times have you changed your HucksOnline avatar? Ever change your pseudonym?
Crime Stoppers of the Inland Northwest is offering a cash reward for information on who was responsible for 
a bomb threat that occurred on Monday September 26th 2011 at 11:30am at Lake City High School. An unknown person left a note in a visible location stating there was a bomb inside the school. A School Resource Officer at the school immediately sheltered the students in a safe place while the school was searched by officers with the assistance of other agencies bomb sniffing dogs/Sgt. Christie Wood, Coeur d'Alene Police Department. More here.
The Cataldo Mission at Old Mission State Park, photographed on Thursday. A new exhibit “Sacred Encounter” will be open to the public on Oct. 15. It will include three dolls commissioned by The Smithsonian Institution in 1901. The complete story will be in the Spokesman-Review on Friday. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)
Question: When did you last visit the Cataldo Mission?
Libyan revolutionary fighters pray on a highway, at their position outside Sirte, Libya, earlier today. Rebel forces are struggling to make headway against loyalist fighters inside the home town of Libya's ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
Top Cutlines:
Gotta give OpenCDA.com duo Mary Souza & Bill McCrory props for not tinkering with the results of that poll they've been running this week: “Who is your favorite person on the CdA City Council.” It's taken OpenCDA this long to collect 97 votes. And the current leader is (hand onto your hat, Jim Brannon) — Mike Kennedy. Mike leads “None of the Incumbents” 37-27, with Ron Edinger a distant 3rd at 14 votes. Here's the current standings:
Reaction?
Any holdouts still clinging to the idea that women are the weaker sex should read a study by Ghent University in Belgium. It outlines why women are better at fighting off infection and disease — more specifically, because 
of our extra X chromosome. “Statistics show that in humans, as with other mammals, females live longer than males and are more able to fight off shock episodes from sepsis, infection or trauma,” said researcher Claude Libert of Ghent University. “We believe this is due to the X chromosome which in humans contains 10 per cent of all microRNAs detected so far in the genome .” Those microRNA act to silence immunity genes — but women can combat that effect with the extra X chromosome/Seattle's Big Blog. More here. (AP photo: A Syrian woman wears a niqab during a protest in front of the Syrian embassy condemning the killing and torturing women in Syria by Bashar al-Assad's regime, in Amman, Jordan, earlier today.)
Question: What anecdotal proof would you offer to back claim that women are the stronger sex?
Burley City Councilman Vaughn Egan, 90, has dropped out of his bid for another city council term. Egan told the Times-News Thursday that caring for his family tops his list of reasons for withdrawing his council bid after he initially filed to run for re-election on Nov. 8. Egan's decision trims the field of Burley council candidates to eight seeking three seats. Earlier, Councilman Denny Curtis announced he wouldn't seek another term/Twin Falls Times-News. More here.
Question: How old is too old for elected office?
10 deal friendliest retail Web sites (from SR Office Hours):
Question: Which of these online sits have you shopped at? Good experience?
Rachael Rich, operations manager for Black Dog Machine, is on hand at the Idaho Firearms and Accessories Manufacturer's Association conference at the Doubletree Riverside in Boise. Black Dog Machine, based in Nampa makes high-capacity magazines and custom parts. Statesman story here. (Idaho Statesman: Katherine Jones)
Question: Do you appreciate women who know how to handle firearms?
“If I don't get a haircut soon I will be forced to buy a Camaro and move to Bonners Ferry!” — Tom Torgerson, on his Facebook wall.
Question: How long do you go between haircuts? And/or: Do you need a haircut now?
Huckleberries hears — and sports scribe Greg Lee has confirmed — that 4A Moscow is trying to back out of its game at 5A Coeur d'Alene a week from tomorrow Friday. It was going to be CdA's homecoming game. Greg Lee is on the phone now to a Coeur d'Alene High source who sez several Moscow High players told their coach that they'd refuse to get on the bus for the Coeur d'Alene game. Lee tells HucksOnline that the entire team numbers 26 players. The Moscow coach has said he wants to play the game if he can field 11 players. Moscow hasn't given Coeur d'Alene a final answer yet. CdA is scrambling to find game. According to a HucksOnline source: “Moscow has said that they do not want to play CHS in the homecoming game at CHS. … Through the grapevine, I have heard that it is the moscow parents that don't want the kids playing against CHS, they don't want them getting beat up for the rest of the season.” Seems Moscow is wary of the Viks after Coeur d'Alene's 88-12 victory over host Sandpoint Friday.
Today's job-killer, according to a news release from 2nd Congressional District Rep. Mike Simpson: federal environmental regulations that would extend to the use of manure. Simpson, R-Idaho, has co-sponsored a bill 
that would ensure that federal Superfund law would not be applied to the cleanup of manure and other “animal emissions. “In light of (the Environmental Protection Agency's) persistence in imposing its job-killing and unnecessary regulatory agenda on the American people, I believe it is important to clarify Congress’s intent on this issue,” Simpson said. “The Superfund law was never intended to regulate manure and other animal emissions as a toxic or hazardous substance. It defies common sense to presume that dairy and other producers who use manure as fertilizer should be regulated the same way as a chemical plant or mining operation”/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Have you ever had a job that required you to shovel manure (of any kind)?
A new health insurance program could mean that 100,000 more Idahoans would end up with 
government-paid health coverage. That was the sentiment Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Dick Armstrong shared with members of the House Health and Welfare Committee at a special meeting in the Capitol Thursday. The meeting, called by committee chair Janice McGeachin, R-Idaho Falls, was intended to study and discuss the creation of a state-based health exchange program, a government-run insurance market system. Exchanges are a major part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed by Congress in March of 2010/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. More here.
Question: Do you think Idaho leaders are happy that 100,000 Idahoans could get government health insurance coverage?
Google Analytics, the super dominant free web analytics platform, has to date offered analytics that were 
roughly 24 hours behind. The wait to stop waiting has come to an end and today the company announced that Google Analytics is now rolling out real-time reporting to its users. Update: Just when you thought that was a big deal, Google Analytics also rolled out a premium offering today. Details below. This is something that many people are going to be very happy about. Real-time analytics startups like Chartbeat and Woopra (whom we use here) may not be among that group of happy people, but publishers and marketers are likely going to love it. You can sign up to request priority access here/ReadWriteWeb. More here.
Question: Do you use Google Analytics?
Students and faculty with permits will be allowed to carry concealed guns on Oregon's seven public university 
campuses – at least for now – as the result of a court ruling Wednesday. A three-judge panel of the Oregon Court of Appeals said that an Oregon University System ban on guns exceeds its authority and is invalid. That means people with permits can pack concealed guns, said Di Saunders, spokeswoman for the university system. “We don't have the authority to kick them off campus unless they show the weapons,” she said. But anyone brandishing a gun on campus would be approached immediately by security, she said/Bill Graves, Oregonian. More here. (Wikipedia photo)
Question: Do you still agree with me that this is a dumb idea?
In this 2008 AP file photo, Michelle Obama campaigns for her husband, then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, at a rally in Rochester, Minn. She's mingled barefoot among Aspen's elite, stirred a Vermont utility executive to tears and bucked up disenchanted New Yorkers. The 2012 presidential campaign is well under way for Michelle Obama, and the first lady is promising to put herself into the election effort like never before. More than a year from Election Day, she is hauling in millions in campaign cash and sketching a portrait of her husband drawn with an intimacy that no one else could duplicate. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)
Question: How important is Michelle Obama to her husband's re-election hopes?
A northern Idaho county is offering public employees a 5 percent discount on their health insurance premiums — if they can pass a wellness screening. Bonner County commissioners voted Tuesday to offer the discounted health care to employees who pass a health screening on several indicators including tobacco use, blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, alcohol use and blood sugar. The Bonner County Daily Bee reports (http://bit.ly/mSlf4Q ) Commissioner Mike Nielsen proposed the program that takes effect Oct. 1, saying it could save money by promoting healthier lifestyles and reducing the number of medical claims filed. But the discount may prove a meager incentive to some. For instance, public employee Anna Bates says she would only save about $3.50 a month/Associated Press. More here.
Question: Would you be willing to take a health screening test for lower insurance rates?
Bank of America plans to start charging customers a $5 monthly fee for using their debit card for purchases. 
The fee will be rolled out starting early next year. A number of banks have either rolled out or are testing such fees. Bank of America's announcement carries added weight because it is the largest U.S. bank by deposits. Anne Pace, a Bank of America Corp. spokeswoman, said Thursday that customers will only be charged the fee if they use their debit cards for purchases in any given month. Customers won't be charged if they only use their cards at an ATM/Associated Press. More here. (AP file photo: A customer uses a Bank of America ATM in Charlotte, N.C.)
Question: Would you change banks if your bank started charging fees for debit card use?
A cat with two faces, named Frank and Louie, one name for each face, is held by the cats owner, who identified herself only as Marty, at their home in Worcester, Mass. The animal is known as a Janus cat, named for the figure in Roman mythology with two faces on one head. The owner calls the face on the left Frank, while the face on the right is identified as Louie. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Question: What do the cat lovers out there think of this one?
Through Wednesday morning, Idaho hunters killed 30 wolves, including four in the state's Clearwater Region. 
Five each have been harvested in the Panhandle and Island Park wolf-hunting zones at opposite ends of the state and seven in central Idaho's Sawtooth Zone. In the Clearwater, one wolf has been shot in the Palouse-Hells Canyon Zone and three in the Dworshak-Elk City Zone. Rene Anderson of Headquarters shot a male wolf with a .44 caliber handgun while bow hunting near her home Sunday. Anderson said she didn't set out to kill a wolf but felt compelled to when the animal made her uncomfortable. She had done a little cow calling about a half-hour before and was working to get to one of her favorite spots. Her eye caught some movement and she thought it was a wolf/Eric Barker, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Do you think hunters are harvesting too many/few wolves?
Rich Landers’ story, “Gutsy wrangler, huge horse, save boy from charging grizzly” (Sept. 18) struck a chord with 
Spokesman-Review readers – and then spread across the continent like jet-propelled stallions. The story of Erin Bolster and her horse, Tonk, went viral on the Internet, capturing the hearts of a country with an appetite for heroes, horses and potential tragedies with happy endings – for both the people and the bear. On the average, 35,000 people a day were viewing the story, a number that jumped to 97,000 a day on Wednesday when Google added it to it’s News Spotlight list. “It’s been crazy,” said Bolster from her home in Whitefish, Mont., noting that she’s been interviewed by numerous publications, TV and radio since the S-R story went wild. The David Letterman Show has tentatively booked her for Oct. 4 or 5/SR Outdoors. More here.
Question: What elements are needed for a story to go viral?
Native and non-native residents of the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation are going to have to work out a local 
solution to their latest conflict over the right of tribal members to hunt on private property if they want to avoid a drawn-out court battle, a federal official said Tuesday evening. Speaking at a confrontational meeting at the Plummer Community Hall, Wendy Olson (pictured), U.S. attorney for Idaho, said there is no single source of law that answers the question of whether tribal hunters are trespassing on nontribal land. “I don’t get to make that decision,” Olson said in response to those in the crowd looking for an immediate resolution to a decades-old bone of contention. “Ultimately,” she said, “it will be resolved through litigation.” But the federal government’s highest law enforcement officer in Idaho advised leaders on both sides to not go down that long trail/Kevin Graman, SR. More here.
Question: Do you think it possible for Benewah County to negotiate in good faith with the Coeur d'Alene Tribe?
On her Facebook wall, KXLY weathercaster Kris Crocker offers this viewtiful scenie from a viewer, with this statement: “Viewer Corey Vogle of Clark Fork, ID, sent me this AMAZING shot (from Tuesday). Sunset over the North Fork of the Clark Fork River. No photo-shopping here, just pure Idaho beauty. I ♥ my home state.” Corey adds: “Sunset over the North Fork of the Clark Fork River, just a few miles from Clark Fork near Lake Pend Oreille. There were some impressive clouds. You can see some of the old dock pilings leading to the
railroad tracks. This is pretty much straight from the camera, no saturation added. (Olympus E-510 w/ 25 year old manual 24mm f2.8 lens)”
Neptune: “I read your blogs often and feel that when attacks are unwarranted they should be defended. And for all the support you throw to Mr.Edinger, it sure seems you like to throw people under the bus!”
DFO: I suspect that what you consider “throwing people under the bus” is any criticism of individuals that you 
consider untouchable. Indeed, Ron Edinger has given long, good service to this community. But, I suspect that the mayor and all the rest of the council believes he’s thrown them under the bus with his grandstanding, dug-in position on McEuen Field. His decision to repeatedly introduce a motion for a public vote on McEuen Field, after the council decisively has said no to that, is no more than pandering to the crowd that’s fighting changes. Some could see that as extremely disrespectful to those he’s served with for years. I don’t mind a dissenting position. But I would expect more than a do-nothing approach to this important issue.
Question: Will Ron Edinger's dug-in stand on McEuen Field help/hurt him at the polls?
Seattle Mariners' Trayvon Robinson walks ot of the dugout afterlosing to the Oakland Athletics 2-0 in a baseball game in Seattle on Wednesday. The Mariners finished the year 67-95 and last in the American League West Division again. Final Major League Baseball standings here. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
Question: Do you consider the future to be brighter for the Seattle Mariners? Or do you expect more of the same losing brand of baseball for the foreseeable future?
Reagan Republican: It’s like all the boards, foundations and public corporations in Coeur d’Alene think the city is a big game of Monopoly. One group buys some property then trades to another then leases it to another. I don’t know how they keep it all straight and know who actually owns what.
Christie Wood: RR what you call Monopoly I call collaboration, sharing of resources, and non duplication of 
services in order to better serve the taxpayer. You have a pretty active imagination in accusing local CDA residents that serve on elected boards of wanting to take over the world. People who chose to serve their community on boards, committees, commissions etc. are the usually dedicated community members that are willing to devote their personal time to community causes. I am not saying there are never people elected with a underlying agenda but they are not the norm. Most importantly all of us are not connected in some sinister way. We are citizens and taxpayers just like you.
Question: Which opinion above re: a vision of Coeur d'Alene most closely represents yours?
Shoshone Conservative: Rex Rammell is to Idaho politics what Lindsey Lohan and Britney Spears are to 
entertainment - like watching a trainwreck in slow motion. Before, yeah, there was the whole misguided independent Senate campaign, and, yeah, he said some stupid things (“Obama tag”), but, on the whole, nothing goofier than Biden or Bachmann. And his views weren’t any further “out there” than most of the Idaho Right. But, now - it’s like he’s had some sort of nervous breakdown or something. Seriously. The guy needs professional help.
Question: Which other Idaho/national leaders do you consider as extreme as Rammell?
Services and a funeral procession for Jonathan Franco, a Rathdrum police officer who died on Saturday in a motorcycle crash north of Newport, Wash., are today. The viewing will start at noon at Real Life Ministries in Post Falls and run until 1:30 p.m. The funeral will be held from 1:30-3 p.m. An Honor Guard will be present to post colors. A funeral procession of police vehicles will run from RLM, north on Highway 41 to Rathdrum's Pinegrove Cemetery where Franco will be buried/Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.
He bought himself a snub-nosed football shoe in the ninth grade to further his ambitions as a place-kicker, so 
instantly – and forever – Joe Tofflemire was known as “Toe.” But soon enough he grew into a complete player – one of the most honored linemen in Pacific-12 Conference history, a second-round NFL draft pick – and, to his family and friends, a complete inspiration. So their sorrow was as profound as their shock in learning that Tofflemire had died Tuesday at Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene after being found unconscious and unresponsive in his Post Falls home. The former Seattle Seahawks center was 46. “He was warm, sharing, caring, compassionate,” said Nick Menegas, Tofflemire’s coach at Post Falls High School. “His evolution from boy to man was so rewarding to watch. He was humble and kind – and so grateful for his opportunities”/John Blanchette, SR. More here.
Signe Wilkinson/Philadelphia Inquirer
A
H/T to colleague Betsy Russell whose blog Eye On Boise was picked as the Best Local Blog by Boise Weekly readers. The BW wrote: “There are journalists, there are bloggers and there are very few who are very good at both. And there is only one in this town who is consistently great at both. Whatever Betsy Russell is reporting on, it's engaging, relevant and most of all, important. There isn't a reporter in this town worth his or her salt that doesn't regularly check Eye on Boise. And if they say they don't, they're lying. In a world that uses the term 'gold standard' too frequently, Russell's work is platinum.” You can join me in applauding Betsy's feat or use this Wild Card to start your own threads …
In this courtroom sketch, from left, Attorney Judy Clark sits with her client, Jared Lee Loughner as U.S. District Judge Larry Burns listens from the bench to testimony from Dr. Christina PIetz, far right, in federal court Wednesday in Tucson, Ariz. Suspected shooter Jared Loughner, who is charged with shooting U.S. Rep. Garbrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and 18 others in January, was in court to face a mental competency hearing. (AP Photo/Bill Robles)
The lopsided score on Friday night raised some eyebrows around the state, so much so that Sandpoint athletic director Tom Albertson was fielding calls on Saturday from colleagues who hadn’t seen the game 
accusing the Vikings of running up the score. One caller had heard a rumor that Albertson and Coeur d’Alene athletic director Todd Gilkey engaged in a shouting match after the game. The funny thing was, Gilkey was not even present at the game. I had a front row seat for the action, and didn’t feel that the Vikings ran the score up, despite the high total. Running the score up usually occurs when starters are left in and teams continue to throw in the second half, and the Vikings did neither. They’re just a damn good football team, plain and simple, and could probably hang a similar number on a lot of 4A teams in Idaho/Eric Plummer, Bonner County Bee. More here. (SR file photo: Coeur d'Alene QB Chad Chalich, with ball, threw for three touchdowns against Lake City last year)
Question: What do you think about the lopsided 88-12 victory by powerhouse Coeur d'Alene High over Sandpoint last week?
Turkeys perch on a fence near a home in Rathdrum earlier this afternoon. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)
On her Idaho Scenic Images Facebook wall, Linda Lantzy offers this viewtiful shot of the recent Prosser, Wash., balloon rally. Linda counted 22 hot-air balloons at the rally.
Hucks Online numbers (for Tuesday, Sept. 27): 9099/5382
Reagan Repub: It’s like all the boards, foundations and public corporations in Coeur d’Alene think the city is a 
big game of Monopoly. One group buys some property then trades to another then leases it to another. I don’t know how they keep it all straight and know who actually owns what. The problem is when someone lands on Park Place it’s the taxpayer that pays the bill (and not with that worthless technicolor money either.) But at election time it’s a big game of Risk. You don’t know who’s for you or who’s against you but you know that someone’s is trying to take over the world.
Question: Which board game would you compare local elections to?
In an earlier blog post, I asked aloud what a nonprofit group hopes to accomplish by squiring Idaho legislators around Turkey for 10 days. Well, nothing, exactly. Or so says one of the legislators on the trip. “They certainly 
didn’t ask for anything,” Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, said in an interview Tuesday. After the Turkey trip first hit the news — when state Sen. John McGee, R-Caldwell, went on his Facebook page to report Idahoans were unhurt in a fatal bombing in the Turkish capital of Ankara — the public scrutiny and online comment traffic have focused on the group that footed much of the bill. While lawmakers covered their airfare to Turkey, the Pacifica Institute picked up the rest. The Turkish-American group paid for travel within Turkey, meals and lodging — although the accommodations included some nights in hotels and some nights staying with Turkish business people/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: None of our North Idaho lawmakers are on the list that Richert provides (in link). Aren't you glad of that? Can you think of any reason that Idaho lawmakers should be taking this junket?
James Edward Porter III (upper left), 22, of Coeur d'Alene, is the star of Major Ben Wolfinger's outstanding felony warrants this week. The Kootenai County Sheriff's Department wants Porter on a number of charges: probation violation for burglary, possession of controlled substance, and failure to appear for 2 count of 
burglary and 2 counts of possession of stolen property. Bail bond for Porter is set at $125,000, once apprehended. Others wanted this week include: Lawrence Frank Bradford (upper center), 39, of Coeur d'Alene (probation violation for burglary, no bond set); Michael Wayne Davis (upper right), 46, of Coeur d'Alene (probation violation for failure to register as a sex offender, $50,000 bond); and David Wade Via (bottom), 25, of Spirit Lake (probation violation for burglary and grand theft, $75,000 bond). Full warrants list here.
Owner Eric Jensen examines cantaloupe on the Jensen Farms near Holly, Colo., earlier today. The Food and Drug Administration has recalled 300,000 cases of cantaloupe grown on the Jensen Farms after connecting it with a listeria outbreak. Officials said Wednesday more illnesses and possibly more deaths may be linked to the outbreak of listeria in coming weeks. Story here. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
Question: Do you enjoy cantaloupes? And/or: Which melon is your favorite?
City Administrator Wendy Gabriel (pictured) offered this response to an earlier post today re: Coeur d'Alene city salaries: “Your blog has a link to a document titled “Some of Coeur d’Alene’s Highest Paid Employees*”. The City did 
not prepare this report although it appears to be a compilation of data that the City has provided in the past. Attached to this email and titled 2009-2010 Actual Pay is a document that was sent to the Idaho Freedom Foundation on May 12, 2011. It includes pay for the period 10/1/2009 through 9/30/2010. The data in this document appears to be shown in the document on your blog under column 4 titled “2010 Salary.” Attached to this email and titled 2011-12 Budgeted Pay is a document that was provided to Sharon Culbreth on Sept. 13, 2011. It is a list of projected pay for the upcoming fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2011 and ending Sept. 30, 2012. It includes a 3% cost of living increase and any eligible service time/performance increases. This data appears to be shown in the document on your blog under column 3 titled “2011 Salary”. I have several concerns regarding the document currently posted on your blog. They are outlined below.” More here.
A new 75 mph sign is shown in Augusta, Maine, at Maine's Transportation Department on earlier today. Next week motorists will be permitted to drive faster when the speed limit becomes 75 mph, the fastest in New England. Maine's Transportation Department will post 75 mph speed limits from Old Town to Houlton. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach)
Question: How fast is too fast for freeways?
The Coeur d'Alene School District is proposing a change in policy that is raising the ire of some parents. The district is considering requiring middle school students to wear uniforms. The district says it's a way to unify the school district and gives them one less thing to discipline. But, some parents argue it takes away students' individuality and that uniforms have no place in public schools/KXLY Facebook page.
Question: Should the Coeur d'Alene School District require middle schoolers to wear uniforms?
Drivers along Highway 195, just north of Spangle, Washington were treated to an unusual sight Wednesday morning at about 7:15. An escapee was being led away while his gang protested and followed a few steps 
behind. Steakum the steer decided to make a midnight run from his pasture sometime Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. The escape left his owner wondering if Steakum has opposable hooves. As far as the life of a bovine is concerned, Steakum lives the life of luxury. He is tethered in a pasture where the green grass is thick and in some areas, taller than he is. Fresh water is delivered to him morning and evening. He enjoys a good scratching on his head and rubbing under his chin causes his eyes to roll back in his head, in pure pleasure. But if you've ever looked into the eyes of your favorite barbecue, you know there is more than just tenderloin, sirloin and… ribs/Brian Neale, KXLY. More here. (KXLY photo)
Question: Have you ever had a pet of any kind that constantly ran off whenever you weren't looking? Tell us about it.
Greeting card companies have taken a cue from the nation’s 9 percent unemployment rate. In a 6-by-4 inch 
envelope, someone can send a friend who lost his or her job a preprinted message of encouragement and sympathy. Though not available at every corner store, layoff greeting cards are being manufactured by Hallmark and sold at its stores and online – and selling well, said Frank Fernandez, owner of two Hallmark stores in North Texas. “We’re in the emotional business,” said Fernandez. “You want to say something emotionally correct and give them (your friends) a card that you’ve chosen to express your own thoughts.” One Hallmark card with a photo of a cat reads: “Is there anywhere I could hack up a hairball, like say, on a former employer’s head?” Another card says: “Losing a job is just plain painful. So I want you to remember I’m in your cheering section … ”/Christina Rosales, Dallas Morning News. More here.
Question:Would you send one of these Hallmark cards to someone who'd just lost a job?
LaNelle Simmons, a 20-year-old University of Idaho student majoring in graphic design and advertising, is responsible for posting humorous inquiries along the Moscow-Pullman road. David Johnson/Lewiston Tribune tells you more about LaNelle and her hobby here.
Claiming Magistrate Judge Jeff P. Payne has no jurisdiction over him, former gubernatorial candidate Rex F. Rammell pleaded innocent to a misdemeanor charge of battery Tuesday. Rammell told Payne that he is a “de 
jure” citizen and invoked his ninth constitutional amendment rights, which makes him exempt from the laws of the corporate state. Rammell said after the hearing he filed a Ninth Amendment affidavit claiming such rights in Boise earlier this year. “I am no longer a member of the corporate state of Idaho,” Rammell explained. “It doesn't mean that we don't follow the law and rules - it means that we're not part of the corporate system.” Even so, Rammell is scheduled for a pretrial hearing in the case Oct. 11 at 10:30 a.m. Payne, who ignored the part about being a “de jure” citizen, told Rammell he faces a possible $1,000 fine, six months in jail and two years probation/Kathy Hedberg, Lewiston Tribune. More here. (Lewiston Tribune photo of Rex Rammell)
Question: Why are we Idahoans so fascinated by the ever curiouser and curiouser life & times of Rex Rammell? Or are you?
In this SR file football by Christopher Anderson from the mid-1990s, Joe Tofflemire grimaces as a Seahawk trainer checks his shoulder during a recent practice. Tofflemire was a football standout at Post Falls High.
Joe Tofflemire, a first-team All-Pac-10 center at Arizona in 1986, 987 and 1988, died Tuesday in Post Falls. He wa 46. He was found unconscious and unresponsive in his home, according to family reports on Facebook. He later died in a Coeur d'Alene (Kootenai Medical Center) hospital. Tofflemire was UA's 1988 football team's Most Valuable Player and the 1988 winner of the Pac-10 Morris Award, emblematic of the league's top offensive lineman. He was selected in the second round of the 1989 NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks and played for the team from 1989-94/Arizona Daily Star. More from Wikipedia here. (John Blanchette & Greg Lee are working on story for SR.)
On his Facebook page, Coeur d'Alene council candidate Dan Gookin posted this video & comment: “I made this video for my last campaign. It was my testimony before the City Council on June 16, 2009. The topic was the annexation and re-zoning of the former mill site, the property now known as the Education Corridor. Pay careful attention to what I say at about the 1:40 second mark. In the context of my speech, it’s prescient: Historically speaking, incumbents and the supporters of the status quo are turned out of office due to battles such as the one City Hall has declared against McEuen Field. Remember: This was in 2009.” More here.
Question: Do you have concerns about the Education Corridor?
Have you ever wondered who earns what among city of Coeur d'Alene employees, from the top to the bottom? Hucks Online has a list of salaries, with LCSC director Tony Berns and City Attorney Mike Gridley leading the pack at $120,000 plus. This list also includes wage increases and percentage of wage increases for this year. Click here.
Question: Anything jump out at you?
At his perch above Sherman Avenue/NW Blvd, Don Sausser snapped this photo this morning of a worker repairing the roof on the Coeur d'Alene Resort. Don reports that there's been cranes at the resort all week. And that it looks like a major roofing project going on.
Question: How often do you visit the Coeur d'Alene Resort in a given year?
In yesterday’s editorial regarding the erroneous payment of unemployment benefits in Idaho, comparisons 
were made to the rate of errors in Alaska, Oregon and Washington. While Idaho’s percentage of errors was the lowest of the three states (9 percent), only former governor Sarah Palin of Alaska was cited as presiding over a state whose error rate was higher (11.8 percent). This was a shabby inclusion on our part. If a governor or governors had to be mentioned (they did not), we should have taken a shot at either current Democratic Oregon governor John Kitzhaber, former Democratic Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski (12.2 percent error rate) or Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire of Washington (14.1 percent error rate) because those state’s error percentages were much higher. We apologize/Twin Falls Times-News. (AP file photo: Sarah Palin shown in Iowa Sept. 3)
Question: Was an ap-hollow-gy necessary?
The Idaho State Lottery refused to provide records sought by this newspaper under a public records request. The Gazette Record requested public records related to the lottery commission’s oversight of the Coeur 
d’Alene Tribe’s compliance with state law relating to its casino. The Gazette Record hired the law office of Christensen & Doman of St. Maries to pursue the request following the newspaper’s reports last month about the tribe’s mandated contributions to local public schools. The tribe is required by law to donate “5 percent of its annual net gaming income for the support of local educational programs and schools on or near the reservation.” Area schools had not received money from the tribe since 2009. When questioned, tribal officials said donations had been made, but would not reveal which school districts received the contributions. Shortly after the story broke, the tribe gave $210,000 to the Plummer/Worley school district/St. Maries Record Gazette. More here. (Courtesy photo: Coeur d'Alene Casino)
Question: If the tribe is required by law to provide a certain level of gaming profits to area schools, shouldn't the record of disbursements be public?
For 41 years, Jim Mathey has been a carrier with the Postal Service. His route these days covers the east side of Coeur d'Alene. It is, he explains, good, solid work. “I love my job,” he said. “That's why I'm still doing it after 
all these years.” But his livelihood is under fire, so Mathey on Tuesday joined about 20 other carriers in a rally on Ironwood Drive, outside the office of Congressman Raul Labrador. They passed out fliers and held signs and wore shirts that read, “We deliver 6 days a week,” “Save America's Postal Service,” “Tell the Hill to pass the bill,” and “6 Days is the right way.” Occasionally, a passing driver honked, prompting the carriers to wave their signs and shout “thank you” on a cool, cloudy afternoon. Mathey said a proposal to close thousands of post offices, end Saturday mail delivery and lay off 120,000 employees is a mistake/Bill Buley, CdA Press. More here. (Jesse Tinsley SR photo: Spokane mail carriers rally at Cathy McMorris-Rodgers office)
Question: You'd think we can find money to underwrite a quality agency like our U.S. Postal Service considering all the revenue this country squanders elsewhere. What do you think?
On her Idaho Scenic Images Facebook page, Linda Lantzy offers this viewtiful scenic of “morning light on the Coeur d'Alene River.”
Recent immigration policies enacted by the Administration undermine the rule of law, say Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch and a group of Republican senators in a letter to the President urging to remand the 
proposals. The directives in question call for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to perform case-by-case reviews, focusing on criminals and public menaces, while closing the books on those not considered a threat. Additionally, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton recently directed the agency to use its “prosecutorial discretion” in deciding which of the pending 300,000 federal deportation cases should be prosecuted. If DHS determines that a particular individual is not a criminal threat, they could be granted conditional permanent residency. In a letter sent to the President yesterday, the senators ask that DHS rescind the proposals dealing with increased use of prosecutorial discretion and abide by existing immigration laws/Mike Crapo news release. More here. (AP file photo: An supporter of tough immigration laws protests in Arizona)
Question: Who do you trust more to deal with immigration policy — congressional Republicans or the White House and congressional Democrats?
Jeff Bezos, Chairman and CEO of Amazon.com, introduces the Kindle Fire at a news conference today in New York. The e-reader and tablet has a 7-inch (17.78 cm) multicolor touchscreen. Behind him is a projected display of magazines that will be available on the Fire. Story here. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Question: What is the last electronic device that you have purchased?
Item: Cd'A's best kept secret: Sunrise Rotary has raised more than $200K in five years/Bill Buley, CdA Press
More Info: The Coeur d'Alene Sunrise Rotary is a great organization, but lousy at publicity. Who knew it had raised and donated more than $200,000 in the past five years? Who knew it contributed money to earthquake relief efforts, to concerts, to scholarships, to playgrounds and to violence prevention? Not many, it seems.
Question: Are you now or have you ever been associated with a civic organization?
Idaho's new citizen redistricting commission has been sworn in by Secretary of State Ben Ysursa, who 
greeted the six new commissioners, saying, “Good morning, all of you, welcome. I facetiously was telling some of you that I thought you were smarter than this, to be on this commission.” He said, “You have a daunting task in front of you. … It may be unfair to you, but time is of the essence. … We need to have a plan in place as quickly as we can, a legally defensible plan. … I commend you for your willingess to serve.” The six commissioners then unanimously elected their new co-chairs: Dolores Crow (pictured) from the Republican side, and Ron Beitelspacher from the Democratic side/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Are you more optimistic that this redistricting commission will perform better for Idahoans than the last one?
Sarah Palin dismissed Florida Straw Poll winner Herman Cain as “the flavor of the month” and mistook the 
candidate's first name in an appearance Tuesday night on Fox News. “Take Herman Cain. Look at why he's doing so well right now. I guess you could say, with all due respect, he’s the flavor of the week,” the former governor of Alaska said. “Because Herb [sic] Cain is the one up there who doesn't look like he's part of that permanent political class - He came from a working class family. He's had to make it on his own all these years. We respect that.” Cain defended his campaign Wednesday morning on CBS/Justin Sink, The Hill, Blog Briefing Room. More here. (AP file photo: the late Herb Caen, of the San Francisco Chronicle)
Question: What do you make of Herman Cain's surprising polling in Florida? And/or: Are you a fan of former San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
Not such a beautiful day in the neighborhood today. But it means that I can continue to keep my sprinkler system turned off — and save a few bucks that I can use to buy firewood in October. Easy come, easy go. Gotta start thinking about winter preparation. Anti-freeze. Studs. Wood. Chimney sweep. But, as Scarlett said, I won't think about that today, I'll think about that tomorrow. Or something like that. Now for your Wild Card …
A worker pulls a boom in a cranberry marsh today, near Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. Wisconsin's harvest, which produces more than 50 percent of the world's supply of cranberries, is just under way. This year's Wisconsin's crop is expected to yield 4.3 million barrels, according to the USDA. (AP Photo/Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association, Andy Manis)
The option of needle-free fall flu shots is being offered at Fred Meyer stores in Idaho and Washington, the 
company announced. The company press release said “most” Fred Meyer stores will have needle-free and traditional options. You may need to call ahead to confirm, if you're looking for the newer version. This is the first time Fred Meyer stores and pharmacies have provided the needle-free injections, said Marc Cecchini, vice president and director of pharmacy for Fred Meyer Stores. Injections use a Biojector, a CO2 gas-propelled system that delivers medications or vaccines through a sterile single-use syringe/Tom Sowa, Office Hours. More here.
Question: Are you afraid of needles?
A mother bear, left, and one of her cubs investigate a dumpster behind the Mount Ivy Diner in Pomona, N.Y. , Saturday. The diner's owner says he's seen a lot of wildlife on his property, but never bears. The bears have been regular visitors for about two weeks. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Eddy Philippe)
Top Cutlines:
Lisa Kulp, a waitress at Ferguson's Cafe, helps sweep debris from in front of the burned-out business on Garland Ave in Spokane Monday. Fire investigators at daybreak began going through the remains of two historic Garland District restaurants _ one a Depression-era icon and the other a popular diner featured in several Hollywood films — that were heavily damaged Sunday night by fire. Owners of both businesses say the plan to rebuild. See story below. (SR photo: Colin Mulvany)
An anti-cheese billboard faces northbound Interstate 41 traffic in DePere, Wis., Tuesday. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine paid for the billboard near Green Bay. The original design featured the Grim Reaper wearing a foam cheese wedge on his head which drew complaints from Foamation Inc., the Milwaukee-area maker of foam hats and other novelties. The company said it didn't want to be associated with something that disparages cheese. (AP Photo/The Green Bay Press-Gazette, Jim Matthews)
Question: How much do you like cheese?
Three would-be beer thieves were arrested in Covina, Calif. after their bungled attempt ended with one man 
getting soaked in a car wash and another tackled by store employees, authorities say. Police say friends Nicholas Fiumetto, Nicholas Kalscheuer and Andy Huynh went to the Baja Ranch Market in L.A. County at 3 p.m. Wednesday with the intention of stealing two 30-packs of Tecate beer, CBS station KCBS reports. Employees reportedly managed to tackle and detain Kalscheuer while Fiumetto jumped into a car where driver Huynh was waiting. According to KCBS, an employee - who probably deserves to be promoted - was able to grab onto the hood and helped cause the driver to crash the vehicle into a curb after a 150-yard drive. Presumably to avoid capture, Fiumetto ran into a car wash next door where police said they found him covered in soap and bubbles/AP. More here.
Question: Have you ever seen an angrier police mug shot than this guy's?
A new report ranks Idaho in the bottom 10 states for the percentage of high school graduates who go to college. The U.S. Department of Education released the report Monday. It includes state-by-state rankings based on 2009 data in several areas, such as how students perform in math and reading while in public school and how many earn degrees in college. Idaho was also ranked near the bottom for its college graduation rate and the percentage of fourth graders — both White and Hispanic — proficient in math/Associated Press. More here.
Question: Do you get the impression that Idaho has become the Mississippi of the West?
Dave Megerle, a member of Wiss, Janney, Elstner, Associates (WJE) “Difficult Access Team,” right, and an unidentified co-worker, test their equipment at the top of the Washington Monument on the National Mall, in Washington on Tuesday, preparing for people to rappel down the sides to survey the extent of damage sustained to the monument from the Aug. 23 earthquake. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)'
Question: How much would you have to be paid to do the job the two men shown in the photo are doing?
More than two years after Michael Jackson's death from an overdose of a powerful surgical anaesthetic, the 
irrepressible circus surrounding the King of Pop was back in full swing as the personal physician who attended to him in his dying hours stood trial for involuntary manslaughter. Fans with gold “MJ” armbands and T-shirts bearing the silkscreen likeness of their idol crammed the courthouse in downtown Los Angeles for a glimpse of courtroom entourage and a shot at one of the few open seats in the public gallery. Bloggers, gossip columnists and news crews were also out in force, just as they were at Jackson's child molestation trial in 2005 and at the rehearsals for the ill-fated final tour – hauntingly named This Is It – that never took place in 2009/Andrew Gumbel, The Guardian. More here. (AP photo — Michael Jackson fan Bristre Clayton of Las Vegas stands outside court during the trial of Conrad Murray)
Question: Are you following Michael Jackson death trial?
Republicans have picked two former lawmakers and the widow of a state GOP chairman to sit on the new, re-formed redistricting commission, which begins its work Wednesday. Former state Reps. Dolores Crow (pictured in Idaho Public TV photo) and 
Randy Hansen were named today, joining longtime GOP activist Sheila Olsen of Idaho Falls. I've covered all three in my various stops around the state. Olsen's GOP credentials are unquestioned, but she is a fair and independent thinker. The same can be said for Hansen. … The long-time chairman of the House Revenue & Taxation Committee, Crow wasn't exactly what one would call a consensus-builder. … Last week, the Democrats named former state Sen. Ron Beitelspacher of Grangeville, former state Rep. Elmer Martinez of Pocatello, and Boisean Shauneen Grange to the panel/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: With 5 commissioners from southern Idaho and the sixth from Grangeville, how sensitive do you expect the new redistricters to be to North Idaho/Panhandle legislative boundaries?
“I believe the Tea Party is a good movement,” Congressman Raul Labrador told the City Club in response to a question. “Because people are being vilified so much by the media, they're not calling themselves 'tea party' 
any more, they're saying 'conservative Republicans.' … The message of the Tea Party is a message that I've always advocated.” He added, “I don't consider myself a 'Tea Party freshman,'” even though that's how the national media always refers to him. “I consider myself a conservative Republican representative from the state of Idaho. … If you don't think that borrowing 40 cents of every dollar … is too much, you are in the minority and not in the majority”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Would you consider Congressman Labrador to be a “Tea Party Repubican” or a “conservative Republican”? What's the difference?
Perhaps it should come as a relief to Idahoans that our state had the Pacific Northwest’s lowest percentage of errors in the payment of unemployment benefits over the past three years. More than 9% of payments in Idaho were paid erroneously, while Washington had a 14.1% error rate, Oregon had a 12.2% error rate and Alaska — under the crack leadership of former governor Sarah Palin — had an 11.8% error rate. But when that 9% translates into $82 million paid to residents who had either already returned to work or had not met the state’s job search requirements, that relief should be somewhat tempered/Twin Falls Times-News. More here.
Question: How do you view the errors that cost Idaho $82M in unemployment benefits — and the lowest percentage in the Northwest? Errors occur? Or something must be done to reduce this figure?
Hucks Online is generally loathe to drive traffic to the OpenCDA site. But it looks as though Mary Souza and Bill 
McCrory need all the help they can get keeping the site alive, judging from the one post they've made in the last week (on open forum one). However, a Berry Picker has brought to my attention a poll being conducted by Mary/Bill, asking readers — both of them — to pick their favorite Coeur d'Alene City Council person, including among the choices Mayor Sandi Bloem and “None of the incumbents.” Councilman Mike Kennedy is currently leading “none of the incumbents” by one vote. So, hold your nose, and go vote.
Question: BTW, who is your favorite Coeur d'Alene City Council member?
Freshman Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador, in response to a question about term limits at the Boise City Club today, 
said, “This is actually an area where I have changed in the last eight months. I believe that we need term limits in politics, especially congressional politics.” He said in his months in Washington, D.C., “I have heard people actively voice openly that the reason that theyre not making the tough decisions they have to make … is because they're worried about the next election”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Do you support term limits? If so, at what elected levels?
People gather outside the Loading Zone Bar and Casino in Great Falls, Mont. on Monday, where early Sunday a truck crashed into the front of the building, killing one person and injuring several others. (AP Photo/Great Falls Tribune: Kristen Cates)
The cost of health insurance for many Americans this year climbed more sharply than in previous years, outstripping any growth in workers’ wages and adding more uncertainty about the pace of rising medical costs. A new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit research group that tracks employer-sponsored health insurance on a yearly basis, shows that the average annual premium for family coverage through an employer reached $15,073 in 2011, an increase of 9 percent over the previous year/Reed Abelson, New York Times. More here.
Question: Is your salary keeping pace with health care costs?
As part of the new changes to Facebook, third-party applications will be incorporated into each user’s personal profile. Instead of manually clicking the mouse to allow updates from apps to be shared with friends, 
the information will routinely be added to someone’s profile each time they use the app with a single permission agreement. Users will need to be more conscientious about their activities because information concerning their private use of the media, exercise schedules and other personal routines will automatically be published on their Facebook walls. Along with the integration of third-party applications, Facebook also introduced the Timeline. The Timeline will take information from people’s personal profiles, such as status updates, tagged photos and events, and meld these components into a chronological “story” of that person’s life/Elisa Eiguren, UIdaho Argonaut. More here. (AP file photo: Mark Zuckerberg at recent Facebook conference)
Question: Are you uneasy about possible privacy intrusions that are part of the new changes to Facebook? Do you understand all those changes?
USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Deputy Regional Director Jesus Mendoza will join students in Northern Idaho to recognize 3 local schools for receiving USDA’s HealthierUS School Challenge Silver awards 
Thursday and Friday. Award winning schools are Harrison Elementary School, Spirit Lake Elementary, and A.B. McDonald Elementary School in Moscow. The challenge is a voluntary initiative established in 2004 to recognize schools participating in the National School Lunch Program that have created healthier school environments through promotion of nutrition and physical activity. Mendoza will also join students for activities including a school assembly, garden tour, student nutrition and physical education demonstrations/Idaho Education News. More here.
Question: What would you include in a school lunch, if you were the chef in charge?
Nice choices, mom and dad. For the fourth time in eight years, Hailey was the region's choice as the most 
popular baby girls' name. For the second time in four years, Aiden was the most popular selection for boys. Those were the results in the 19th annual Tribune Stork Report, the tabulation of baby names for the year ending midyear 2011 at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston. They succeed the year - ago choices of Elizabeth, for girls, again a strong contender, and Connor, for boys, only chosen two times. Nationally, Hailey was the 19th most popular name for girls. The most popular were Isabella, Sophia, Emma, Olivia and Ava. Aiden was No. 9 in the U.S. The most popular were Jacob, Ethan, Michael, Jayden and William/Butch Alford, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Are there any “old-fashioned” names in your immediate family?
Christa Hazel followed a report re: the IB (International Baccalaureate) meeting last night: “I am disappointed that there are so many community members not ashamed to be openly rude and it seemed to fall on one side. Some people barked 
at the speakers when they couldn't hear or the speakers were too loud. One older man interrupted a lady who was speaking about IB teachers like Mr. Ruskovich and asked why Mr. Ruskovich sends his kids to Charter Academy. Mr. Ruskovich, from the audience, re-directed the attention by stating, “Why don't you ask me that question, Sir.” As an audience member, it was difficult to hear all of the speakers because of the side conversations in the audience. One man kept muttering “this is bull****” and kept raising his hand as though he wanted to question each speaker.” Full meeting report here. (Christa Hazel photo: Debbie Morris addressing Wanda Quinn. Matt Handelmann, assistant Superintendent is seated next to Wanda.)
Question: I noticed this same phenomenon during the final meeting on proposed McEuen Field changes — older adult people in the audience acting like 2-year-olds when they didn't agree with something being said. Why are people in this town so disrespectful in public settings when they disagree with something?
When it comes to safety on college campuses, whom do you believe?University officials and local law enforcement agencies — the people entrusted to keep the peace? Or the National Rifle Association, a 
special-interest group seeking to put Idaho into its win column? Earlier this year, 41 House members — 40 Republicans and one Democrat — took the NRA’s side and passed a bill allowing concealed weapons on Idaho college campuses. The House-passed bill died in a Senate committee. Considering the NRA’s success in one legislative chamber, it’s only inevitable that the group is coming back to take another run at a weapons-on-campus bill. On Thursday, an NRA lobbyist took the group’s case to Idaho State University’s student union building/Idaho Statesman Editorial Board. More here.
Question: Are you a member of the National Rifle Association?
Emergency crews and ATF personnel investigate the scene after a fire at the Rocky Mountain Fireworks and Fur Co. near Caldwell on Monday morning. Animal rights activists said they pumped fuel into the fur and fireworks retailer before setting the place ablaze early Monday, and federal agents said they were taking the claim seriously. Story here. (AP Photo/Idaho Statesman, Katherine Jones)
Florence Slater of Post Falls checked out the book selection at Post Falls Library on Monday, during the start of Banned Books Week that runs Saturday. “Beware of the book” stickers have been posted on all Community Library Network facility doors and some of the banned books were put in cages and surrounded by caution tape. The displays have been put together to remind people of the freedom to read afforded to all U.S. citizens. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)
Question: Have you ever read a “banned book”?
LoveToHateMe: I’d say at best the U.N. is at best an unnecessary international organization trying to influence
U.S. domestic policy from the outside, and at worst an invasive international organization designed to subvert the worldwide power and influence of the U.S. in active opposition to actions that are in our best interest. I’m definitely not a Republican, but the mere mention of the U.N. does get my head close to exploding. :P
Question: How do you view the United Nations?
IdBarrelRacer: I personally find it refreshing that (Coeur d'Alene council candidate Amber Copeland) isn’t a political mucky-muck. I’m looking forward to having a younger candidate that might actually represent a good 
portion of the residents of this city. Up until now, I’ve had the option to choose between the “lesser of 2 evils” when making my voting decisions. I think this race finally has enough varied candidates that there could be a ‘good’ choice rather than just a ‘not as bad’ choice. If nothing else, Amber has brought some youth to the race, and I think the younger residents might just get off the couch and actually vote. I know I’ll be taking a long hard look in her direction come election day.
Question: How often do you feel as though you're choosing between the lesser of two evils when you're voting?
Item: Private property? Resident has had tribal members hunt on his land/Alecia Warren, Coeur d'Alene Press
More Info: It starts on the opening day of hunting season, he said, tribal members with hunting gear rumbling across his property on four wheelers, trucks and motorcycles. “They'll come up and flash this (tribal membership) card and say, 'I'm a tribal member and I can hunt anywhere I want to,'” he said. The 55-year-old's main objection is that he believes his property rights are being violated, he said. Gress acknowledges and respects the love for hunting in the region, he added, but there are also safety concerns for himself, his dogs and his neighbors.
Question: Should private property owners on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation have the right to prevent tribal members from hunting on their property?
Lisa Benson/Washington Post Writers Group
As much as we griped re: long, rainy spring and early summer, none of us should be complaining re: the wonderful fall that we've had. Mrs. O & I enjoyed perfect weather Friday evening for hosting an engagement party for Amy Dearest and future son-in-law Okie Doke at our house. Then, the four of us attended a wedding and evening reception Saturday, when afternoon temps topped 90 degrees … at the end of September! Amazing! I take back all my grumbling from earlier this year. Now, for the first Wild Card of the week …
A father and son head for their fishing hole at Muddy Run Recreation Park in southern Lancaster County, Pa. New research suggests that dads are less likely to die of heart-related problems than childless men are. The study by AARP, the government and several universities is the largest ever look at men, fertility and mortality. (AP Photo/Intelligencer Journal, Marty Heisey)
Question: Have your children been good for your heart?
re: Editorial: Kootenai County residents face double, triple sewer rates/Coeur d'Alene Press
KEA Blog response: The paper is evidently calling for some sort of misguided citizen uprising against yet-to-be-determined sewage rate increases caused by yet-to-be-permitted sewage treatment upgrades. Wildly 
missing the mark though, the CDA Press does the region no favors. In fact, some 13 years into an impossibly complicated process, the polluted Spokane River and particularly he green-slimed and oxygen-starved Long Lake finally have a reasonable cleanup plan that requires significant pollution reductions to all the dischargers on the River, including Idaho’s. Despite the editorial’s unfounded and hyperbolic claims, Idaho municipalities discharging onto the River are already committed and are hard at work designing and testing improved sewage treatment technologies. Full response here. (Jesse Tinsley SR file photo: Tubers on Spokane River)
Question: How import to you is the water quality in the Spokane River?
An off-duty Rathdrum police officer was killed Saturday morning when his motorcycle was involved with a two vehicle accident four miles south of Cusick. Johnathon Franco, 27, had been with Rathdrum police since 2006 working as a patrol officer. Coeur d'Alene Press reported that Franco's motorcycle hit a Plymouth whose driver slowed for an injured deer in the road. Motorcycle debris from wreck struck a third vehicle. Spokane Valley-based photographers, Shmily Face Photography, spent time with him in May. More from Nicole Hensley, KXLY here. (Photo courtesy: Shmily Face Photography)
Luigi leads the way as six dogs attempt to break the Guinness World Record for most dogs on a surfboard, during the Surf City Surf Dog event held in Huntington Beach, Calif., Sunday. The dogs were not able to stay on for the required ten seconds. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Orange County Register, Cindy Yamanaka)
Top Cutlines:
Hucks Online sees that the Fall 2011 Constitution Party National Committee & Conference will be held Oct. 
7-8 at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. Among the Constitution Party worthies expected to attend is former U.S. Rep Virgil Goode, who represented the Virginia 5th District and is considered the frontrunner for the party nomination although he hasn't made an official candidacy announcement. According to a Constitution Party news release, the fall convention originally was rewarded to Spokane, but Spokane area committee members suggested “that going across the state line to the Coeur d'Alene” Resort would be a better location. Full story here. The local Constitution Party, as you may recall, led the small protest against that public art display of Indian idol Ganesha on 6th & Sherman. So, with your help, I'd like to suggest things the Constitutionalists can do while they're in downtown Coeur d'Alene:
Question: Can you add to the list?
Rep. Marge Chadderdon, R-Coeur d'Alene, says she's not planning to seek a fifth term in the state House of 
Representatives, so the fact that a proposed new legislative district plan unveiled today puts her in the same district as Reps. Phil Hart, R-Athol, and Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, wouldn't force any face-offs among incumbents. Chadderdon said she made her decision back when she was sworn in for her fourth term last December; she subsequently ended up missing the 2011 session while undergoing cancer treatment, and her daughter, Julie Chadderdon, filled in for her. “That isn't the reason I'm not running,” Chadderdon said today. “I had made up my mind regardless.” Her daughter, also, has made it “very, very clear” she doesn't want to run, Chadderdon said, “ever, ever”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Hypothetical Question: Which 2 of these 3 would you pick, if forced to do so: Marge Chadderdon, Phil Hart, and Vito Barbieri?
Move over, Oscar Mayer; Your weinermobile is about to have some competition. A giant potato, hauled on a 
semi, will hit the road in 2012 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Idaho Potato Commission marketing Gem State potatoes. Frank Muir, head of the group, told IdahoReporter.com Monday that there is a $700,000 budget for the 2012 anniversary celebration, which includes the cost of taking the giant potato across the country. The commission is spending $269,200 to design, decorate and build the custom tractor trailer along with the potato. After its completion, the group will spend a project $58,000 in fuel for the diesel truck, which has planned stops in New York, Florida, the West Coast and several locations in between/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. More here.
Question: Will the Potatomobile replace the Wienermobile in the hearts & minds of the American people?
At Slight Detour, Marianne Love found a silver lining in yet another lopsided loss by the Idaho Vandals this season — son William filed the game report. You can read it here. Writes Marianne: “It was not a good game for the Vandals — at least in the second half, but it was another good sports gig for Willie.” (Idaho Vandals media relations photo from UI/Fresno State game)
Hucks Online numbers (for week of 18-24): 46605 page-views/29348 unique views
Question: Anyone given up on the 2012 Idaho Vandals yet?
he end is near — or so it seems to a segment of Christians aligned with the religious right. The global economic meltdown, numerous natural disasters and the threat of radical Islam have fueled a conviction among some evangelicals that these are the last days. While such beliefs might be dismissed as the rantings of a small but vocal minority, apocalyptic fears helped drive the antigovernment movements of the 1930s and ’40s and could help define the 2012 presidential campaign as well/Matthew Avery Sutton, WSU associate professor of history, in New York Times. More here. (Wikipedia illustration: Antichrist and the devil. From the Deeds of the Antichrist fresco by Luca Signorelli,)
Question: Do you believe in a literal fulfillment of biblical prophecy re: a future anti-Christ?
Lake City High School students were released from school early today after administrators received a bomb threat at the school this morning. The administrators received a note around 11:38 a.m. saying a bomb was going to go off, said Laura Rumpler, a district spokeswoman. The school’s 1,450 students were evacuated around 1 p.m., then released shortly after. Students who walked to school were allowed to leave and those that rode the bus were transported first to the North Idaho Fairgrounds before boarding buses for home. Students who drove had to have their cars cleared by law enforcement before being allowed to depart, Rumpler said/Alison Boggs, SR. More here.
Question: Prank? Or a kid who wanted to get out of a test?
Doves are released during the Survivor Tribute at the 20th annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Orange County on Sunday in Irvine, Calif. Over 25,000 participated in the Newport Beach event. (AP Photo/Orange County Register, Michael Goulding)
The seriousness of the cause is balanced with humor, hope and courage each year at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Coeur d'Alene. And there is always lots of pink. The 12th annual event, held Sunday on the campus of North Idaho College, was no different. Along with the customary pink T-shirts, balloons, ribbons and flowers, there were kids with pink mohawks, toddlers with pink cowboy boots, grandmas with pink sunglasses - even an English mastiff wearing a hot pink tutu. “It's great to see the spirit that's out there,” said Tiffany Moe, this year's race chair. “I'm happy we had the turnout we did.” The 5K fun run and 1-mile walk, a fundraiser to support breast cancer patients and survivors and breast cancer research, attracted 2,300 registrants this year/Maureen Dolan, CdA Press. More here.
Question: Have you or a loved one suffered from breast cancer?
On her Facebook wall, Sarah Anderson asks: “Of the magazines sold at the checkout line of a supermarket, which one would you subscribe to if it was free?”
Question: You can answer Sarah's question and/or tell us which magazines you subscribe to now?
On her Facebook wall, Coeur d'Alene City Council candidate Amber Copeland announces: “My original plan to have a rock concert at the cda bandshell and speak about my campaign is not panning out. Does anyone have any other ideas of a cool location (preferrably not a bar) that has a lot of foot traffic and could support sound equipment?” Copeland is seeking the council seat currently held by John Bruning. Others in the race are Steve Adams, Derec Aujay, and Annastasia Somontes.
Question: Where would be a good place to hold a rock concert to advertise your City Council candidacy?
By any measure, he was an extraordinary man. That he had a winning bedside manner is incontestable. Besides being a beloved “family doctor” who for 28 years delivered most of the babies born in Benewah 
County, he was an active community leader, a man of many interests, especially in political and public affairs. Dr. C.A. “Doc” Robins, Idaho’s 22nd governor, was the right man in the right place at the right time in Idaho history. The first of the modern, post World War II governors, he set Idaho on a solid course into the future, shepherding through the Legislature new laws that created the State Building Fund, the Tax Commission, the Department of Labor while revamping Idaho’s antiquated prisons, revising its workman’s comp program, removing the highway department from the patronage system and forcing consolidation of Idaho’s 1,100 school districts into less than 200. Yet today one can travel the length and breadth of Benewah County and not find a single public reference to one of Idaho’s most accomplished governors ever having lived and worked in St. Maries/Chris Carlson, The Carlson Chronicles. More here.
Question: Who is your favorite Idaho governor? Why?
You read over the weekend about the old claim resurrected by Benewah County Prosecutor Doug Payne that the 
Coeur d'Alene Indian Tribe doesn't have hunting rights on non-Indian property on its reservation. Several commented in a thread about the story. But did you see that the tribe refused to comment to the St. Maries Gazette Record. Toward the end of the story about a meeting to discuss the matter, the Gazette reports: “The tribe’s legislative director, Helo Hancock, said the tribe would not comment because they feel they are treated unfairly by this newspaper. “We see a clear pattern involving the tribe in your newspaper,” Mr. Hancock said. “The articles are unfair, biased and frankly defaming of the tribe and until that changes we will be withholding comment.” (St. Maries Gazette Record photo: Approximately 20 people, including local property owners, Rep. Dick Harwood, Benewah County Prosecuting Attorney Doug Payne and Sheriff Bob Kirts attended a meeting on trespassing and hunting on the reservation Sept. 8 at the Plummer Library.)
Question: Is it good policy by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe to withhold comment from a newspaper that it claims reports stories in an “unfair, biased and frankly defaming of the tribe”?
Herb Huseland (shown standing below steps in photo) and youngest son, Brian, took a trip down memory 
lane when they headed for the Colville area. Herb's grandfather homesteaded land there. His mother taught in the one-room building (pictured in inset). Herb: “Just up the road about three miles was the one room schoolhouse where my mother, Nina Huseland nee Barton,taught grades 1 through 8. Most farm kids ended their education after the 8th year. We set out to find the old school, called Spirit. We had information that it was still standing after 98 years. We found it north of the mine about 3 miles on the right side of the road. It was repainted barn red and is now a private residence. Originally it was white.” More here.
Question: Have you ever taken a trip back to visit your childhood roots?
When confronted by Spokemsan-Review reporter John Stucke, right, Doris “Dee” Nelson, center, breaks down crying while her husband Dennis, left, looks on at their rural home in north of Colbert Thursday. Dee Nelson is suspected of taking investments in the tens of millions from friends and family for her loan business. She is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Losses are estimated at $135 million. John Stucke SR story here. (SR photo: Jesse Tinsley)
A National Rifle Association lobbyist says the guns-right lobby will attempt to persuade Idaho lawmakers next year to allow people to carry concealed weapons on college campuses without a permit. The Idaho State Journal reports that Matt Dogali of the NRA at a meeting at Idaho State University last week said people should be allowed to carry a concealed weapon without a permit and to bring that weapon onto campuses. Earlier this year lawmakers decided to leave it to university leaders to decide how to regulate firearms/AP. More here.
Question: I still think this is a dumb idea, even after the recent murder-suicide at the University of Idaho. How about you?
People run in their underwear from the Gallivan Center to the Capitol in Salt Lake City. Thousands of people stripped to their underwear and ran through Salt Lake City to protest what they called the “uptight” laws of Utah. Story & more photos here. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Djamila Grossman)
Question: Would you rather live somewhere that had “uptight” laws that tried to rein in the excesses of modern society, like Utah, or somewhere where anything goes?
Take all the acronyms, the scientific formulas, the political agendas at cross purposes and the bitter 
cross-state line disputes. Flush it all down the toilet. And show up at an important public meeting this Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the Post Falls Senior Center. Yes, the issue is about your sewer bill, to put it succinctly. But it's about much more than that, too. If the federal Environmental Protection Agency moves ahead with plans to clamp the most restrictive water quality standards in the nation on North Idaho, your sewer bill doubling or tripling in the next couple of years could be the least of your concerns/Coeur d'Alene Press. More here. (SR file photo: Coeur d'Alene water superintendent Sid Fredrickson)
Question: Can Kootenai County residents afford to pay for more restrictive water quality standards?
Officials have emerged from their confab on redistricting, and announced that the former commissioners' new agreement on legislative and congressional district lines has no legal significance, other than as a recommendation to the new commission, which will start meeting on Wednesday/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More on today's redistricting discussions here.
Question: Would the new redistricters be wise to quickly put their stamp of approval on the plan approved post-deadline by former redistricters & supported by both Idaho Democrats & Republicans?
For school Superintendent Tom Luna, even a modest attempt to improve Idaho's abysmally poor effort to 
prepare preschoolers for a lifetime of learning was a step too far. Luna turned thumbs down on a $50 million, multi-year federal Department of Education “Race to the Top” early learning grant. The grant had Gov. C.L. (Butch) Otter's blessing, but without Luna's support, it's going nowhere. While children in most states profit from expanded preschool offerings, Idahoans will fall further behind. Only 10 states spend nothing on prekindergarten programs. Idaho, of course, is on the list, along with Montana, Utah and Wyoming. Idaho also spends nothing on Head Start, relying solely on federal support/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Was Superintendent Tom Luna right in turning down the $50M Department of Education early learning grant?
Phil Cooper of Idaho Fish and Game talks about the taxidermy grizzly on display at the agency's Coeur d'Alene office this week. The bear was killed illegally in 1997 north of Creston, B.C. Cooper said the bear was typical of grizzlies in the region, weighing about 400 pounds, less than the bigger coastal grizzlies. Becky Kramer SR story here. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)
Often, readers move on quickly after a horrific accident or crime, while victims are left to deal with injuries and 
shattered lives. Take Yvonne Wallis, for example. She was one of the four victims of that hammer attack by a deranged Bayview neighbor pre-Christmas 2010. Daughter-in-law Patty Heath died in the attack. Suspect Larry Cragun is in jail awaiting trial. Yvonne wears a blue football helmet to protect her fragile skull. She has undergone two serious surgeries and faces another at University of Washington, to have a permanent plate installed in her skull. Herb Huseland, a good friend who transported her to Seattle this summer, reports: “Nothing is guaranteed. She is still in a life-threatening condition, and without great care could fail to survive”/DFO, SR Huckleberries. More here.
SR weekend columns:
Question: Do you know someone who was severely injured in a violent attack?
Fire investigators at daybreak began going through the remains of two historic Garland District restaurants – 
one a Depression-era icon and the other a popular diner featured in several Hollywood films – that were heavily damaged Sunday night by fire. Spokane firefighters initially tried battling the three-alarm blaze inside Mary Lou’s Milk Bottle, 802 W. Garland Ave., at 8:42 a.m., but they had to pull back as heavy flames spread around them and over to Ferguson’s Cafe next door, authorities said. Both structures were heavily damaged, and investigators said it was questionable whether either one of them could be restored. Damage to the roofs of both eateries was severe, officials said. The fire apparently started at the rear of the Milk Bottle, but the garbage receptacle was not so badly damaged that it would have been the source of the fire, an investigator said/Spokesman-Review. More here. (SR photo: Dan Pelle)
Question: Which Inland Northwest landmark of the past do you miss most?
Item: An FBI presence at Riverstone/Nils Rosdahl, Business Bits, Coeur d'Alene Press
More Info: The official occupant is the General Services Administration, but the people in the building just under construction at 2155 N. Riverstone Drive will be with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The 9,500- square-foot, single-level structure to be completed in April is located on the inside corner of Riverstone Drive, south of where it connects with Seltice Way. It's west of the Riverstone Administration building, which won't be that too much longer. We'll get into the details of that and another new Riverstone building next week.
Question: Did you know the FBI had an office in Coeur d'Alene?
Item: Marijuana debate hits Idaho: Local group hosting informational meeting Oct. 14/Tom Hasslinger, CdA Press
More Info: Opponents say Idaho is next. They're organizing informational meetings to fight legalizing medicinal marijuana, a issue that is sure to come the Gem State's way since neighboring states have already done so. They say the topic will come up during the 2012 legislative session, just as it had in 2011, but with even more vigor since pro-pot lobbyists have Idaho in their crosshairs. Like dominos, after neighbors Washington and Montana have legalized it, they say Idaho is the last holdout in the Pacific Northwest, ripe to be targeted.
Question: Should Idaho legalize medical marijuana?
Michael Ramirez/Investor's Business Daily
a 27-year-old Rathdrum, Idaho man is dead after a crash on Highway 20 near Cusick. It happened just before 10 a.m. four miles south of Cusick. Washington State Patrol Troopers said Jonathan Franco was riding his motorcycle and rear-ended another car which was slowing down for an injured deer on the road/KREM. More here.
It was such a nice evening Friday that we enjoyed our portable fire pit in the back yard until almost midnight. We staged an engagement reception for Amy Dearest and future son-in-law Okie Doke, too. Getting new cell phones and a young friend's wedding are on tap today. And picking tomatoes. Can't get enough garden-ripe tomatoes this time of the year b/c I know that I'll be stuck with store-bought ones through the winter and next spring. Enjoy our last few days of swell, warm weather. Now, for your weekend Wild Card …
Item: Tribal hunting rights in question: Members: We can hunt anywhere on reservation/Alecia Warren, Press
More Info: The Coeur d'Alene Tribe is calling bunk on a claim by the Benewah County prosecutor that tribal members don't have the right to hunt on reservation land owned by non-tribal members. “Any explanation or advice to people that tribal members can't hunt and fish anywhere on the reservation is wrong, and potentially dangerous,” said Helo Hancock, Tribe spokesman. “I think it misleads people, and could lead to people getting into a conflict situation.” But Benewah Prosecutor Doug Payne is poised to continue the standoff, and, hoping for federal assistance, has invited Idaho's U.S. attorney to a public meeting on the matter next Tuesday in Plummer.
Question: What do you make of Benewah County Prosecutor Doug Payne's stand on this matter?
Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun makes a diving catch on a ball hit by Florida Marlins' Omar Infante during the fifth inning of a baseball game on Friday in Milwaukee. The Brewers were one of three teams to win their division titles Friday night. The other two were the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Question: How did your favorite Major League Baseball team do this year?
Today is National Punctuation Day, a celebration of punctuation which occurs each year on Sept. 24.Founded by Jeff Rubin in 2004, National Punctuation Day simply promotes the correct usage of punctuation. Rubin encourages appreciators of correct punctuation and spelling to send in pictures of errors spotted in every day life. H/T: Val Hughes.
Question: Which is your favorite punctuation mark?
Duroc: Herb, the mountain lion wasn’t “reintroduced,” and it obviously wasn’t “protected.” These folks built their
homes in the Boise foothills. If you build your house in a predator’s habitat, what do you expect the animals to do? Move? The grizzly hunters were in the backcountry, for Pete’s sake. Nothing that’s happened the past two weeks makes me any less likely to support “reintroduction” or “protection” of dangerous predators. More people were killed in car accidents the past two weeks than were attacked and/or killed by “dangerous predators.”
Question: Have the episodes involving grizzlies and mountain lions of the past two weeks caused you to change your mind re: reintroduction and/or protection of dangerous predators?
Yabetcha: My wife was going through an old box of photos today lined with newspaper and staring up at us from
the bottom of the box was a September 6, 1977 CDA Press news page with a picture of Mayor Ron Edinger and Dixie Reid soaking their feet in the water course & fountain at Independence Point. The city was awarded a first place in a statewide parks beautification project. He looked on his game then and is still on his game today. Don’t sell him short. The “Old Dog” knows a few tricks yet.
Question: Is Councilman Ron Edinger's tenure on the Coeur d'Alene City Council, dating back to the 1960s, an asset or a liability? In other words, has he been on the council too long? Or not long enough?
Former network news anchor Ted Koppel prescribed a healthier diet for the American public Friday, saying people need more unbiased, substantive news coverage and less “candy” journalism. Koppel, who spent 25 
years as anchor of ABC's “Nightline” news show, was in Pullman to receive the 2011 Edward R. Murrow lifetime achievement award at Washington State University. Prior to giving the keynote address, he met with local reporters and students. The first question was about his thoughts on the most pressing issue facing journalists today. “The first thing we have to do is get back in the business of giving the American public what they need to hear - and what they need to hear is nonpartisan news about issues of real importance,” he said. “That means giving them less of the candy news that they've been getting over the past few years”/William L. Spence, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Are you concerned re: the direction journalism is going?
No. 1 Coeur d'Alene throttled Sandpoint in North Idaho Friday night, beating the Bulldogs 88-12. No doubt they will remain the top team in the SWX Pick 6 Power Rankings on Monday morning. Chad Chalich completed 17 of 17 passes for 287 yards and had 7 touchdowns. (Story here.) No. 2 Ferris shut out Rogers 61-0, while No. 3 Central Valley won the Greasy Pig rivalry game against University 27-14. No. 4 Colfax had no trouble with Liberty, winning 45-0. The lone upset of the night came courtesy of West Valley, who lost to Cashmere 56-23. Mead beat Mt. Spokane 48-24 in the Battle of the Bell. All SWX scores here.
Question: Is Coeur d'Alene High that good?
Nick Anderson/Houston Chronicle
Amy Dearest and future son-in-law Okie Doke showed up at midnight last night for a weekend of hanging out with the parents and attending a friend's wedding. Always nice to see the kids. And it looks like a sunny weekend ahead. All we need to do now is take care of business at Hucks Online until 5:30-6 and then … PAR-tee. Here's your TGIF Wild Card …
New world champion Arnaud Demare, front, and silver medallist Adrien Petit of France celebrate winning the men under 23 road race over 168 kilometers (104.4 miles) with start and finish in Holte, north of Copenhagen, Denmark, earlier today. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
A hunter who died during a grizzly bear attack was killed by a single gunshot wound to the chest, the Montana 
State Crime Lab medical examiner announced today. Steve Stevenson, 39, was killed when his hunting partner, Ty Bell, shot the bear multiple times in an attempt to stop the bear’s attack on Stevenson, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. One of the rounds struck Stevenson in the chest. The investigation by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is continuing. The sheriff’s office will not be releasing any additional information for at least another three weeks, Undersheriff Brent Faulkner said in the news release/SR. More here.
Reaction?
This March 15 file photo shows the ConocoPhillips megaloads siting idle on a pull out for Montana Department of Transportation west of Helena. A Montana judge says he will rule soon whether to repeal or change his order to keep these Exxon Mobil subsidiary's oversized oil refinery rigs bound for Canada off Montana highways. Story here. (AP Photo/The Independent Record, Eliza Wiley, File)
Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Ron Edinger — yes, that Ron Edinger, the councilman who has been an elected official in Coeur d'Alene since Methuselah was a baby — is now on Facebook. You can check out his Facebook site here. Dan Gookin, Amber Copeland, & Jesi B. Gaboury have already friended him. (In the interest of fairness, you can find challenger Adam Graves' Facebook page here.)
Question: Do you think Councilman Edinger is actually posting on Facebook himself?
In the latest twist in this year's Idaho redistricting saga, the Idaho Republican and Democratic parties have just issued a joint media advisory saying the previous redistricting commissioners, from both parties, have now reached agreement on both congressional and legislative district plans, and will present them to Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa on Monday morning at 9. The previous commission, of course, was disbanded after it failed to meet its Sept. 6 deadline, and a new six-member commission is scheduled to be sworn in and start work on Wednesday/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: What do you make of this development?
Attorneys for the Idaho State Tax Commission have filed their response to Rep. Phil Hart's state income tax 
appeal to the Idaho Supreme Court, writing that Hart seems to be arguing different rules apply to him just because he's a state legislator. “Appellant appears to be arguing that his status as a legislator excuses him from the requirement to file a timely appeal,” the state attorneys wrote. Hart, a tax protester who stopped filing both federal and state income tax returns for three years in the 1990s, had 91 days to appeal his order to pay more than $53,000 in back state income taxes, penalties and interest for tax years 1996 to 2004, but instead waited more than six months, saying an intervening legislative session entitled him to more time/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Reaction?
This is a bit far afield for Linda Lantzy/Idaho Scenic Images. But it's still viewtiful. It's a photo of Birch Bay on the Puget Sound, Wash.
Hucks Online numbers (for Wednesday): 8457/5059; and (for Thursday): 9154/6236
In this 1946 image taken by photographer Joseph Jasgur and released by Julien's Auctions, a photo of Norma Jean Dougherty, who eventually changed her name to Marilyn Monroe, is shown. A bankruptcy judge in Florida ruled earlier this week that photos taken of Monroe will be sold at auction to settle the debts of the photographer. Jasgur's photos, negatives and image copyrights will be sold in December by Julien's Auctions. (AP Photo/Julien's Auctions, Joseph Jasgur)
Question: Who do you think was the most glamorous actress ever?
Ryan Leaf has set a lot of records for Washington State University. Even though the Cougars barely lost at the '97 Rose Bowl, Leaf's success as quarterback prompted him to leave WSU and become a first-round draft 
pick in the NFL. He bombed, was booed and benched. “For that reason, I stayed away from WSU and Cougar nation for a long time — for all the wrong reasons,” he said. “What I should have done was run back to the family that always supported me. And I pushed them away, because I was embarrassed.” Leaf will be the first to tell you he did not know how to focus his intensity or handle his failure to win. “But for sure, it was an embarrassing moment in my life at 21 years old,” he said. “But I think a lot of people do embarrassing things when they're 21 years old. And if that's my truly embarrassing moment at 21, I'll take that one over some of the other stories I've heard/Kathy Goertzen, KATU. More here.
Question: Did you do something incredibly stupid at age 21 that you would be willing to mention?
Boise soldier Pfc. Andrew Holmes will spend seven years in prison for murdering an Afghan boy during a patrol in January 2010, Army Lt. Col. Kwasi Hawks said today. Hawks wanted to sentence Holmes to 15 years 
in prison, saying it appeared to him that Holmes had not confronted “the awful moral gravity” of what he did when he shot 15-year-old Gul Mudin as the Afghan stood in a poppy field. His sentence was capped by a pretrial agreement that limited his confinement to seven years. Holmes will receive credit for the 499 days he has been confined since the Army launched its investigation in May 2010. He also could be released early with credit for good behavior. Holmes' family members cried as Hawks read his sentence. … Hawks said he understood that Holmes was a junior soldier in a difficult situation, but he said it did not excuse the murder/Adam Ashton, Tacoma News-Tribune. More here.
Question: Do you agree with this sentence?
In this file image provided by NASA this is the STS-48 onboard photo of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) in the grasp of the RMS (Remote Manipulator System) during deployment, from the shuttle in September 1991. NASA's old research satellite is expected to come crashing down through the atmosphere this afternoon Eastern Time. The spacecraft will not be passing over North America then, the space agency said in a statement Wednesday evening. (AP Photo/NASA)
Question: Which worries you more — being hit by space debris/asteroids/comets or being adbucted & probed by aliens?
A gay soldier’s question about the end of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy elicited boos from the 
audience at Thursday’s Republican candidates debate, and a promise from Rick Santorum (shown answering a question during debate) to reinstate the policy if elected. In a video submission, Stephen Hill tells the Republican presidential candidates he “had to lie about who he was” when he was deployed to Iraq in 2010 because of his sexual orientation, and his fear that he would “lose my job.” “My question is, under one of your presidencies, do you intend to circumvent the progress that’s been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?” Hill asked. Loud jeers were heard immediately from the crowd at the debate site in Orlando, Fla., marking the third straight debate when the audience’s reaction overshadowed the candidate’s/Michael A. Memoli, Tribune Washington Bureau. More here.
Reaction?
In an editorial today, the Idaho Statesman addresses Gov. Butch Otter: “Accepting the feds’ grant — and establishing a health exchange on Idaho’s terms — is just common sense. But you know those nullifiers. 
They don’t have much use for common sense. “I will be in opposition of a state exchange,” state Rep. Vito Barbieri, a Dalton Gardens Republican and the House’s nullifier-in-chief, told IdahoReporter.com. Barbieri says he will canvass the House to see if there is critical mass to oppose accepting the feds’ money. At this point, governor, you would normally be entitled to consider the source. IdahoReporter.com focused on the potential opposition from the nullifiers in a story this week. The online news service is an offshoot of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, whose director, Wayne Hoffman, is a lobbyist/nullifier who says a state health exchange will be nothing more than a “federal beast.”/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Is Butch Otter too cozy with the nullifiers?
Rich Landers writes: “My Outdoors feature story last Sunday, “Gutsy wrangler, huge horse, save boy from charging grizzly” struck a chord with Spokesman-Review readers –and then spread to readers across the 
continent like jet-propelled stallions. The story of Erin Bolster and her horse, Tonk, riding herd on a grizzly bear near Glacier National Park went viral on the Internet, capturing the hearts of a country with an appetite for heroes, horses and potential tragedies with happy endings – for both the people and the bear. … “It’s been crazy,” said Bolster from her home in Whitefish, Mont., noting that she’s been interviewed by numerous publications, TV and radio since the S-R story went wild. On Friday, she tentatively was booked for Oct. 4 or 5 on the David Letterman show. More here.
Question: Which one of the late-night shows do you watch?
Texas inmates who are set to be executed will no longer get their choice of last meals, a change prison 
officials made Thursday after a prominent state senator became miffed over an expansive request from a man condemned for a notorious dragging death. Lawrence Russell Brewer (pictured), who was executed Wednesday for the hate crime slaying of James Byrd Jr. more than a decade ago, asked for two chicken fried steaks, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, fried okra, a pound of barbecue, three fajitas, a meat lover's pizza, a pint of ice cream and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts. Prison officials said Brewer (pictured) didn't eat any of it/AP via Sirens & Gavels. More here.
Question: Do you agree w/the move by Texas to eliminate last meals for condemned prisoners?
The good news: Several Idaho legislators were unhurt this week in a deadly bombing in the Turkish capital of Ankara. And no, the lawmakers were not traveling overseas on state taxpayers’ nickel. But that still leaves 
some nagging questions. What exactly are Idaho lawmakers doing touring Turkey in the first place? And what does a nonprofit group hope to accomplish by squiring Idaho legislators around the nation for 10 days? There are — in life and in politics — no freebies. This tour was bankrolled by the Pacifica Institute, a group of Turkish-Americans that seeks “to develop social capital — the creation and extension of positive connections within and between disparate social networks to achieve mutual understanding and common commitments to enriching the social good”/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Have Idaho lawmakers involved in this trip to Turkey compromised themselves in anyway by accepting the freebie from the Pacifica Instute?
Idaho Department of Fish and Game conservation officer Matt O’Connell talks to reporters in Boise earlier today, about a mountain lion that was killed after chasing after a 10-year-old boy near a Mores Creek subdivision in the Boise area. It was the latest in a series of wildlife incidents, including one in which a mountain lion was shot by authorities in Boise near St. Alphonsus Hospital earlier this month, after being spotted around town for several weeks. Statesman story here.
Reaction to mountain lion shooting?
On Twitter, SR City Editor Addy Hatch tweets: “Save the jokes - but does anyone know why downtown Spokane smells like cow manure? Several of us remarked on it today.”
Question: On Hucks Online, of course, you don't have to save the jokes. Anyone?
Apparently class warfare is what happens when the working class fights back. Years of shrinking taxes for the richest Americans have not been class warfare. The fact that incomes for the top earners have increased for 
decades, while middle-class incomes (adjusted for inflation) have stagnated is not class warfare. But when working Americans ask our richest citizens to carry their share of the burden, to give back some of what our society has given them, that is class warfare. Republican politicians pointed out that the top income earners pay 40 percent of America’s federal income tax. They don’t mention that income tax rates have consistently fallen for decades. They don’t mention that this represents the rich paying a much smaller percentage of their own incomes to taxes than the middle and lower classes/Max Bartlett, UI Argonaut. More here.
Question: How would you describe class warfare?
Idaho coach Robb Akey said he's sad Fresno State will be leaving the Western Athletic Conference. He doesn't want Hawaii and Nevada to go, either, and is disappointed that the Vandals no longer play in-state 
rival Boise State. “I thought we had a pretty good, competitive football conference the past couple of years,” said Akey, the former Washington State defensive coordinator who's been at Idaho since 2007. “These games have been hard-fought and fun. You'd like to keep playing them all if you could.” But with Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada all set to follow Boise State and join the Mountain West Conference by next summer, Idaho is among the five remaining schools left behind to try to stabilize the WAC. The Vandals might be the most likely candidate to become the conference's new flagship football program, considering they're the only team among the five remaining WAC programs to sport a winning record during the past two seasons combined/Bryant-Jon Anteola, Fresno Bee. More here. (AP file photo: Aggies' Christine Michael is forced out of bounds by Vandals' Homer Mauga during the third quarter of Idaho's 37-7 loss last weekend)
Question: Would you rather see the Vandals as a power in a weak WAC or as competitive in the old WAC?
If you haven't attended a live opera performance in the Inland Northwest, your last chance might be right here, 
right now. Not to sound devilishly ominous, but local opera is the latest cultural delight to dangle on the ledge of solvency. Spokane Opera is no more. Only Opera Coeur d'Alene remains standing, and to put it bluntly, this weekend's two performances of “Faust” represent an enormous challenge - and of course, a heck of an opportunity. Opera Coeur d'Alene has put together an all-star cast with expert stage direction from Aaron St. Clair Nicholson, a star of Metropolitan Opera House fame himself. During an enthusiastic gathering of opera fans last week at Bistro on Spruce in Coeur d'Alene, Nicholson paused between songs long enough to promise this: “You're going to see a show as good as anywhere in the world. The smiles will melt your faces off”/Mike Patrick, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.
Question: What would it take to interest you in a $35 ticket to the Opera Coeur d'Alene offering of “Faust”?
Republican presidential candidates Texas Gov. Rick Perry, left, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, center, listen as Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn, makes a point during a Fox News/Google debate Thursday in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, Pool)
Question: What are Mitt & Rick thinking?
Americans trust local news organizations more than any other source — including national news orgs, government and business. But that’s not saying much. Only one-quarter of those surveyed say news orgs get the facts right, a new low since 1985 when the question was first asked. Two-thirds (66 percent) say stories are often inaccurate, a new high. And nearly three-quarters of Americans believe that journalists try to cover up their mistakes, rather than admit them. While Republicans have long held negative views of the media, Democrats and independents are increasingly critical of it/Julie Moos, Poynter. More here.
Question: Do you think we get things fairly right on the front page of Hucks Online?
Cellphone addicts may have to put the brakes on their habits with the passage of a new ordinance banning 
hands-on mobile device use while driving. Council members passed the draft ordinance on its third reading after allowing for several months of public comment opportunities. The ordinance is the culmination of council members Carrie Logan and Marsha Ogilvie’s efforts to implement local or statewide cellphone regulation. “Even if we just get people to think about picking up the cellphone or texting while driving, at least we’re doing something,” Ogilvie said at the July council meeting. “We’re making a step in the right direction instead of still leaving it up to the state legislators”/Cameron Rasmusson, Bonner County Bee. More here. (AP file photo for illustrative purposes)
Question: Would you like your North Idaho community to institute a ban on texting and talking on a cell phone while driving?
CHEERS … to Idaho Gov. C.L. (Butch) Otter. The governor just kicked off what could be a huge fight with the nullification wing of the GOP for the best of reasons: It's the right call for Idaho consumers, taxpayers and 
businesses. Nobody has taken a harder line against President Obama's national health care insurance reform. Otter even issued an executive order barring any state agency from doing anything to implement health care reform without his say-so. Wednesday, however, Otter agreed to apply for $31 million in health care act grants, enabling the state to start health insurance exchanges. Those exchanges will enable individuals and small businesses to obtain health insurance. The working poor also can secure subsidized health insurance through these vehicles. Had Otter struck a hard line, the federal government would have operated Idaho's exchanges, threatening 2,500 Idaho insurance agents and disrupting the health care delivery/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
More Idaho Opinion:
Question: Do you think the “nullification wing” of the Idaho Republican Party will forgive Butch Otter for agreeing to apply for $31M in Obamacare money?
In this June 26, 2011, photo provided by Laura McCallum and taken in Veneta, Ore., a group of men help turn a canoe being built by John McCallum, owner and boatwright of Applegate Boatworks. Back in 1806, explorers Lewis and Clark stole a canoe from native Americans living on the Pacific Coast. More than 200 years later, William Clark’s descendants are making amends to the Indians’ descendants by having a 36-foot replica built for them by an McCallum. Story here. (AP/Laura McCallum photo)
Question: What do you make of the gesture by William Clark's descendants to make amends with Native Americans by offering a canoe to replace the one stolen more than 200 years ago?
Jim Faucher's son, Greg, a 1991 graduate of Coeur d'Alene High, is known as a prankster. So his birthday 39th birthday Thursday provided a great opportunity for fellow employees at a financial consulting firm in Lake Oswego, Ore., to get even.
Question: What's the best practical joke ever pulled on you?
Several of you have commented — in the comments section here & on Facebook — re: the name change sought by a Kootenai County resident, reported in the Idaho Records section of the Wednesday SR: “Stonecalf Warriorwoman, petition for change to Mary Angelfire Gotcha!” So I have a question:
Question: If you had to change your name for some reason, what name would you pick?
Christie Wood: Mr. Hamilton I was on the Board when the decision was made to offer IB. I also worked along 
side your Board Chair Wanda Quinn for many years to become a school district that did offer as many different opportunities for learning as possible. With that in mind there are often grant opportunities that our district has utilized in the past to fund various programs. Have you or the administration researched the possibility of continuing the programs with grant funding? If funds were made available would you support the continuation of both programs?
DFO: Since the comment ended with a question pointed at Coeur d'Alene Trustee Tom Hamilton, I'll leave this for him to answer rather than post a question of my own.
Duroc: Tonight’s GOP debate was appalling. Booing a gay soldier who served our country proudly? Really? 
The Tea Party wing of the GOP is absolutely sickening. Although I don’t agree with them on everything (and I’m still perfectly happy with Obama), I give credit to Romney and Hunstman for keeping it classy. Perry has shown himself to be an absolute dolt. He’s like the dim-witted captain of the football team who think she can get by in life with his good looks and his charm. And it’s funny to hear someone who is personally responsible for executing 200+ people say that he will alway side with “life.” What an ugly damned primary this is going to be. What an ugly general election it’s going to be. If I wasn’t such a political junkie, I’d wish to be 5 years old again so I wouldn’t feel compelled to pay attention to this garbage. (AP photo: Texas Gov. Rick Perry, left, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, share a laugh during a Fox News/Google debate Thursday)
Question: Did you watch the debate? Reaction?
Signe Wilkinson/Philadelphia Inquirer
We pulled off Hucks Fallfest at the Fort Ground Grill Wednesday evening without any serious injuries. Small group, 15-18, but top-notch attendees — 3 City Council candidates, Councilman Al Hassell, social media guru Jamie Lynn Morgan, Dan of the Community, Spencer, Dan Gookin, Reagan Repubs Jeff Ward & Ron Lahr, Duane Rasmussen and others. Coeur d'Alene Trustee Tom Hamilton and council candidate Amber Copeland arrived a bit late. Several of us stayed hobnobbed for 30-45 minutes after SR City Editor Addy Hatch and Senior Editor Geoff Pinnock finished picking our brains re: social media. Enjoyable. Steve Widmyer's taco bar was top notch, too. But enough of yesterday. It's time to play the daily Wild Card …
Kimberly Morton, of Warren, Mich. poses with her 1991 Cadillac Brougham hearse during a gathering of hearse owners last Saturday Putnam Twp., Mich. (AP Photo/Daily Press & Argus, Alan Ward)
On From A Simple Mind, Cis writes of getting new hearing aids: “On the way out of the (Costco) parking lot, I 
heard this kind of squishing sound. Then it dawn on me, it was the tires rolling on the pavement. And I have since learn that my dryer makes a scrapping sound as well as the hum of the motor. And when I turn on the television, I had to run to the remote and turn it down, as it was so loud from when I had been watching it earlier in the day. These keys are noisy as well. And I laughed as the King turn on the turn signal and I thought about how noisy it is, and it sounded weird, as I realize I could hear it well now. Oh, yea, I ran into the kitchen to find out where the water leak was, as I could hear water running… only to find out it was the dishwasher… funny I never heard that before. More here.
Question: Which background noise in your 'hood is most soothing?
Gonzaga University student Molly Sullivan Roberge and others are putting up posters recently to help the mountain-going public learn how to be good neighbors with the mountain goats that highlight our high-country hiking trips. Rich Landers/Outdoors tell you more about the project here.
UC Irvine students play dodgeball in an attempt to set the Guinness world record for the largest dodgeball game in Irvine, Calif., Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Question: Dodgeball, red rover, crab soccer … what was your favorite organized kid game during your school days?
The Idaho Recreation and Parks Association (IRPA) awarded Parks Director Doug Eastwood the Dr. Leon 
Green Fellowship Award – the highest honor given by the association – at an awards ceremony held September 20th. The ceremony took place during their annual meeting, which was held in Boise earlier this week. The Dr. Leon Green Fellowship Award recognizes outstanding contributions made to the parks and recreation profession. It is based on longstanding and dedicated service to the IRPA as both as a member and in various leadership positions. In reference to Eastwood’s accomplishment, Mayor Sandi Bloem said, “What Doug has done to expand and enhance the city’s parklands for the enjoyment of the residents of the City of Coeur d’Alene is remarkable”/Coeur d'Alene Today. More here.
DFO: I consider Doug Eastwood to be the Johnny Appleseed of parks. I've seen his crew & him develop Coeur d'Alene's incredible parks system on a shoe string over the last quarter system.
Coeur d’Alene Police Detectives recently closed thirty-one auto burglary cases, and two felony malicious-injury to property cases that were reported over the course of this summer by arresting and charging three male 
juveniles with those crimes. Detective Alan Winstead believes several more reported burglaries in the City of Coeur d’Alene and in Kootenai County could be connected to these males. Detectives are continuing their investigation in an effort to resolve all of the cases possibly connected to the suspects. The juvenile’s names will not be released but they are the ages of 13, 16, and 17. The 13-year-old male was a reported runaway at the time of his arrest and recently moved here from Billings, Montana. The 17 year old was also a reported runaway and resides in Coeur d’Alene. The 16-year-old resides in Coeur d’Alene/Sgt. Christie Wood, Coeur d'Alene Police Department. More here.
Moments ago, the police scanner reported that a strange guy from a Jeep Cherokee was walking up to Post Falls Bank of America customers using the ATM, carrying a black box. One customer ordered the guy to back away. Dunno about you, but I feel awkward standing in line at an ATM because it's hard to tell how far to stand behind the person using the machine. At my bank, I stand back about 10 to 12 feet because the bank doors divide the space. So here's the question …
Question: How much distance should those waiting in line give the user of an ATM machine?
In this book cover image released by Simon and Schuster, “Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend,” by Susan Orlean, is shown. (AP Photo/Simone and Schuster)
Question: Which TV/movie dog is your favorite?
I'm as confused as most of you re: recent changes to Facebook. In fact, after a year of trying to incorporate Facebook and Twitter into what I do here, I feel as though I'm still operating at half power in the other social 
media area. During a discussion on Facebook today, local social media whiz Jamie Lynn Morgan mentioned that she's offering 2 classes in social media at the workforce training center this fall. I'm planning to sign up for the 3-hour class on social media basics on Thursday, Oct. 13: “Connect with family and friends with online social networking. Discover how to use Facebook and other social media tools to stay in touch, share messages, and post photos and videos. Get hands-on experience and expert guidance in setting up your own social profile and finding family and friends online.” It's $49. She also offers a 5-week $119 “social media for business marketing.” You can learn more about these two programs here.
Interested?
A Coeur d'Alene Press story Wednesday reported that the school district had concerns about the performance of students in the International Baccalaureate and advanced placement programs at the Coeur d'Alene high schools. Trustee Tom Hamilton discussed this with a handful of us hung around after the 2011 Hucks Fallfest 
with Addy & Geoff ended. I noticed he's discussing the topic with Press commenters in a lengthy thread from the article above. He comments: “While there are differences in the approach taken, both programs are designed to challenge advanced learners. Students who will succeed in an IB program will also be successful in an AP program. However, the IB v. AP issue has been argued from ideology and emotion by BOTH sides of the debate and not from a true evaluation of the performance and cost of the program. For this reason, I have asked that the district make available to the public a complete picture of the program which should include academic performance, the true costs of both programs, enrollment numbers, trends, historical and on-going fees / costs, etc.” Tom's full comment at 8:06 Wednesday here.
Question: Do you consider the International Baccalaureate program in local high schools to be valuable?
Dan McCarthy, left Michael Towne and Rhonda Lutzke of Frontier Communications donned hockey jerseys in preparation for the official groundbreaking for KYRO (Kootenai Youth Recreation Organization) Ice Rink in Coeur d'Alene today. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)
A Kootenai County nonprofit ice arena that has been rebuilding since a 2008 roof collapse received a major boost Thursday when Frontier Communications announced a seven-year, $175,000 contribution. As a result, the Kootenai Youth Recreation Organization (KYRO) ice arena on West Seltice Way in Coeur d’Alene will be renamed Frontier Ice Arena. The Fortune 500 company provides widespread communication services in rural America and also purchased much of Verizon’s landline operations in 2009. Following the December 2008 roof collapse, KYRO received a $2 million insurance settlement and launched an effort to rebuild a much-expanded ice arena/Alison Boggs, SR. More here.
Question: Do you know how to ice skate?
Idaho's 2nd District GOP Rep. Mike Simpson is No. 5 on AOL's list (of top energy lawmakers), according to a story published Thursday. 
Topping the list is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who is noted for having blocked bills backed by Simpson and other House Republicans aimed at limiting the power of the Environmental Protection Agency. Simpson chairs the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees EPA spending and has proposed an 18 percent cut in EPA's budget, including funding for air quality rules. He also seeks to prohibit EPA from regulating greenhouse gasses/Dan Popkey, Statesman. More here.
Question: Do you agree with Mike Simpson's energy politics?
It's the rare American who hasn't thumbed through a National Geographic magazine. The power of the photos 
taken for the magazine's features has engaged generations, whether it be a story on distant lands, wildlife or the naked people of a primitive tribe. The editors of National Geographic recently set their sights on “The Wild & Scenic Rivers of America,” and Idaho will be included in the magazine's November issue. … Idaho's Middle Fork of the Salmon, Owyhee and Bruneau rivers, among others (will be included)/Jennifer Liebrum, Idaho Mountain Express. More here. (AP file photo: Rafters prepare to go through the Eye of the Needle Rapid on the Lower Salmon River, near Lewiston)
Question: Can you remember a National Geographic article that made a big impression on you?
The humorless testicle-phobes at the American Family Association have gotten wind of this new flavor of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream named “Schweddy Balls.” Here is their press release via Right Wing Watch, which quotes the word “balls” no fewer than 10 times, for mysterious reasons:
Ben & Jerry’s announced their newest ice cream flavor which sounds anything but appealing. Schweddy Balls is the best they could come up with. The vulgar new flavor has turned something as innocent as ice cream into something repulsive. Not exactly what you want a child asking for at the supermarket.
More from Kirsten Boyd Johnson/Wonkette here
Question: We all know that protests of this type tend to boost the profile of the object of the protest. Is this protest against Ben & Jerry's Schweddy Balls ice cream meant to hurt the sales of the product or gain attention and funds for the American Family Association?
On Twitter, Executive Producer Melissa Luck/KXLY tweets: “For the first time ever, I'm flying tomorrow with a 3-month old baby. Any advice (besides lots and lots of booze?)”
Question: What advice would you give a mother flying with a 3-month-old baby?
In dozens of camps along Lake Coeur d’Alene and the Spokane River, Coeur d’Alene Indians used stone tools to pound and grind meat, berries and roots. The handmade tools would be left in the water, where they would continue to be shaped by its flow. Dozens of the tools were used by Indian families on the tribe’s aboriginal lands dating to ancient times, said Cliff SiJohn, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s cultural awareness director. Alison Boggs' story here. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg shows Timeline during the f/8 conference in San Francisco this morning. Story here. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Question: Zuckerberg says eventually, all news will come through friends, according to Dustin Hurst via Twitter. What do you think of that?
Court documents and police reports are painting a fuller picture in a peculiar Bonner County assault case. Little was known about the circumstances surrounding an incident in which a Vay landowner used a John Deere tractor to dismantle a home on his property with a woman and two children still inside. The episode resulted in three felony assault charges against Paul Fagerlie Finman, who faces trial in 1st District Court this fall. Court documents and other records, meanwhile, reveal that Finman, 56, was entangled in a dispute with an adherent of the sovereign citizen movement named Alexander Duncan Campbell. Finman inherited the entanglement with the property he purchased off Bandy Road in Vay. Campbell, his wife, son and daughter were living on a home on the ranch rent-free/Keith Kinnaird, Bee. More here.
Question: What do you make of this case?
Now that I’ve eaten a live maggot, I can mark that off my bucket list. Which is pretty amazing, especially when 
you consider that eating a live maggot wasn’t on my bucket list to begin with. So how did this extraordinary happening come about? To start at the beginning, I became a gardener, and I did that as an attempt to do something nice for my mother, so obviously it’s all her fault. Did you catch that, children? Even while staring eyeball-to-eyeball with half a century, it’s still possible to assign blame to your parents. Take note. My mother is getting older. How old I won’t say, but let me mention that I was born sometime in her third decade of life and, as I said, I am looking at 50 barreling toward me like a freight train/Trish Gannon, River Journal Politically Incorrect. More here. (SR file photo)
Question: What is the foulest thing you've eaten?
The 2011 America’s Brain Health Index, released today, reveals which areas of the country have progressed, 
held their own or lost ground in taking measures to improve their brain health over the last two years. The state-by-state ranking of brain health is part of a national health education campaign called Beautiful Minds: Finding Your Lifelong Potential, a partnership between life’sDHA™ and the National Center for Creative Aging (NCCA), designed to inspire Americans to develop and maintain healthy, beautiful minds by incorporating key lifestyle factors known as the four dimensions of brain health — diet and nutrition, physical health, mental health and social well-being. According to the 2011 America’s Brain Health Index, Idaho ranks No. 25 among the brain-healthiest states in the nation/Beautiful Minds. State-by-state index here.
Question: How well does your mind work?
On her Idaho Scenic Images Facebook wall, Linda Lantzy provides this streetscape of Sherman Avenue in downtown Coeur d'Alene from Wednesday night. See Linda's Facebook wall & photos here.
Stocks plunged today, with the Dow sinking more than 400 points, as nervous investors ran for the exits and 
into some safe havens. U.S. Treasuries rallied, with the 10-year yield hitting a record low. Worries about a slowdown in global growth weighed down commodities, with copper, oil and silver prices sinking. The selling started early, with world markets logging steep declines, following the Federal Reserve's gloomy outlook and weak manufacturing data from China. Adding further pressure to U.S. markets was the latest jobless claims report, which was worse than expected/Chicago Tribune. More here. (AP photo)
Question: How do you react to a day like today when the Dow dive-bombs more than 400 points?
It’s fair to say that Mary Ann Wilson, creator and host of the hugely popular “Sit and Be Fit” exercise program, never expected to appear in New York City’s famed Central Park. But that’s exactly where she’ll be on Friday and again on Sept. 30. Partnering with the New York City’s Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, Wilson, will be the featured guest at two live events in Central Park.The events are part of Fitness Fridays – a series of group exercise shows that are part of a citywide effort to draw older adults into the park.The shy, soft-spoken registered nurse fell into fame quite unintentionally. “I’m totally introverted,” she said from her South Hill home office/Cindy Hval, SR. More here.
Question: Have you ever watched Sit and Be Fit?
Lamaze breathing techniques recently helped me endure an excruciating experience at the grocery store. 
Shopping shouldn’t be painful, but on this sunny Saturday, I experienced a “perfect storm” situation at the checkout line. And like the hapless victims on Gilligan’s Island, my three-hour tour stretched into an eternity when I was stranded in checkout purgatory. I began to unload my groceries while the couple in front of me haggled with the cashier over a coupon. That happens. No big deal. Scanning the tabloids entertained me while management was called and the coupon conniption resolved. At last, it was my turn. Almost/Cindy Hval, SR. More here.
Question: What do you do when someone causes a long delay in your checkout line?
Re: Kootenai County, tribe pursuing deal to put land in trust/Alecia Warren, Press
Spencer: I find myself shocked and dismayed that the CdA Tribe has been quietly negotiating with the past board of county commissioners to eliminate property taxes from all tribal members’ homes. The original plan 
advanced by the tribe was that because the tribe contributes so much to the community (even though they are obligated to by their casino compact agreement with the state) their members shouldn’t have to pay any property taxes that provide necessities like road maintenance, ambulance, and other county services. The current plan envisions the county entering into an unlawful scheme whereby the county would cancel the property tax statements prior to them being sent out to tribal members. So, should the Tribe be able to count the casino profit share plan dollars to also allow their members to not pay any property taxes to the local taxing districts like fire and roads?
Question: Is this a good deal for Kootenai County?
Ten candidates are jostling for three seats on the Coeur d’Alene City Council, but one issue has come to dominate all of the races: the future of McEuen Field/Daniel Walters, Pacific Northwest Inlander. More here. (Courtesy photo: Inlander)
Question: How important to you is a candidate's stand on the McEuen Field upgrade project?
This wolf apparently escaped from the Wolf People sanctuary in Cocolalla, Idaho, in June, despite workers' insistence that the wolf had died. Although Wolf People say the wolf is friendly, the Idaho Department of Fish & Game has given a “shoot to kill” order to dispose of it. What do you think?
Question: Should North Idahoans who see the wolf shoot first and ask questions later?
I don't know for sure how the Lilac City happened to show up on the late Los Angeles Times sportswriter's
radar. I've always assumed it had something to do with the Spokane Indians' AAA days of being the launch pad for future Dodgers. But maybe the stage was set for this memorable burst of typing by a USC or UCLA game against WSU. In any event, here it is. “The only trouble with Spokane, Wash., as a city is that there's nothing to do after 10 o'clock. In the morning. “But it's a nice place to go for breakfast”/Paul Turner, SR Slice. More Slice online.
Question: Which town has more to do — Spokane or Coeur d'Alene?
Item: Somontes seeks Cd'A council seat/Tom Hasslinger, Press
More Info: A 44-year-old gas station cashier is running for Coeur d'Alene City Council, saying not enough people in the service industry are represented on the commission. Annastasia Somontes, a native of San Jose, Calif., who moved to the Lake City 14 years ago, is running for the open Seat 3 in her first attempt at any elected post. She's gearing her campaign at representing people in the service industries who struggle to make ends meet.
Question: Which non-incumbent in the Coeur d'Alene City Council races intrigues you most?
Kooky members of PETA want us to stop fishing because fish can feel pain and are intelligent. Yeah? Well I’ve 
never heard of a fish passing the Mensa entrance exam. And if fish are such geniuses why haven’t they figured out how to avoid all the nets, hooks and tuna cans? True, a blowfish could fill in for our county prosecutor without anyone noticing. But the same could be said for a hand puppet or a peanut shell. Fish IQ aside, there’s no question about the three shirtless actors who pretended to be dead fish in a Wednesday PETA protest in Spokane. They’re dumber than a box of bait/Doug Clark, SR. More here.
Question: Who's smarter — a crappie or your average, topless PETA protester?
Signe Wilkinson/Philadelphia Inquirer
I'm breaking early today, to get to the Fort Ground Grill for the 2011 Hucks Fallfest with Geoff & Addy. You're all welcome to the taco bar feed and then discussion forum, led by SR Editor Addy Hatch & Senior Editor Geoff Pinnock, re: newspapers use of social media and possible pitfalls. The food and pop are free. The event starts at 5:30 p.m. As always, there should be good fellowship with Huckleberries blog/Twitter/Facebook crowd …
Freed American Shane Bauer, center is welcomed upon his arrival from Iran, in Muscat, Oman Wednesday. After more than two years in Iranian custody, two Americans convicted as spies took their first steps toward home Wednesday as they bounded down from a private jet and into the arms of family for a joyful reunion in the Gulf state of Oman. (AP Photo/Sultan Al-Hasani)
On her Nuts & Nonsense blog, JeanieSpokane lists the benefits of growing older, including:
Question: Can you think of other benefits to growing old?
Lisa Beckman takes a break recently to pet her dog Diesel as they sit on the front bumber of an old truck at Legacy Farm in Greenbluff. The 20 acres behind her used to be in apple orchards before her parents took out the trees 20 years ago. They are now planted in Christmas trees. Beckman is a third generation farmer in the Greenbluff area. (SR photo: Christopher Anderson)
Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., looks at hanging beef carcasses during a plant tour at Amend Packing Co. on Tuesday in Des Moines, Iowa. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Top Cutline:
Bill Gates tops this year's Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans with a net worth calculated at $59 billion. Forbes says the Microsoft co-founder saw his wealth increase by $5 billion from last year. Investor Warren Buffett ranks second with a fortune of $39 billion, though Forbes says the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. chief executive's wealth shrank by $6 billion from a year ago. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison rounds out the top three with a net worth of $33 billion, a $6 billion increase from last year/AP. More here. (AP file photo, of Bill Gates)
Question: Anyone know how much Duane Hagadone is worth?
They didn’t smell fishy, but the three protesters in front of downtown Spokane's Sushi.com restaurant tried to give the impression of dead fish this afternoon. Shirtless, painted blue, and lying motionless on fishing nets, demonstrators from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), along with campaigner Hayden Hamilton (in plain clothes), were protesting fishing. “More fish are killed for food every year than any other animal,” Hamilton said. She stressed that fish are intelligent and can feel pain. The Spokane protest is the second of four PETA protests building up to National Fish Amnesty Day on Saturday/Lydia Zuraw, Inlander. More here. (Photo courtesy of Pacific Northwest Inlander)
Question: Is there any cause you'd consider worthy enough to show a little skin publicly in protest?
Marianne Love with husband Bill and daughter Annie visit the new Dave Niehaus statue during a weekend ballgame in Seattle. (Photo courtesy: Slight Detour)
Hucks Online numbers (for Monday): 8495/5141, and (for Tuesday): 7974/4911
Facebook.com founder Mark Zuckerberg smiles at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., in this 2007 AP file photo. Facebook, the social network, is tweaking the home pages of its 750 million users, much to the chagrin of some very vocal folks. The world's largest online social network is expected to announce even more changes on Thursday, when it holds its annual f8 conference in San Francisco for developers who create games and other applications for its site. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
MikeK: Is it heresy to say I kinda don't care about the Facebook changes that seem to be angering everyone?
It's a software product built on an eyeball advertising model that will either be interesting enough to sustain eyeballs or not. If not, something else will replace it. I spent about 13 minutes on Myspace 5 or 6 years ago and it wasn't for me. Google Plus hasn't connected for me either though I have been on it. I'm not that emotionally invested in any of them. The next billion dollar idea is waiting in the weeds somewhere to spring itself, and I'm intrigued at what that will be (hope it's mine).
Question: What do you make of all the recent Facebook changes?
Four years ago, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney was all the rage among Idaho Republicans. It didn’t matter much, since by the time Idaho Republicans got to vote in the primary Romney had dropped out 
and John McCain had the nomination in hand. But Romney was the clear early favorite among Idaho Republicans, at the upper reaches of elective office and party structure, and well down below. This year, not so much – or rather, things are a lot more complicated. For one thing, Idaho Republicans’ presidential preferences – at the nomination stages – will matter a lot more in 2012, since the party has chosen to move (as the Democrats did a while back) to an earlier caucus, probably March 6. That means the party’s activists actually will play a meaningful role in the nomination process. And there are indicators to what that could mean/Randy Stapilus, Ridenbaugh Press. More here.
Question: Randy Stapilus goes on to mention the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans straw poll won by Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Can Mitt Romney bank on Idaho being in his corner this year?
An unidentified longshoreman receives attention after being maced and detained at port facilities in Longview, Wash., today. A conflict over Longshore union jobs at the grain terminal is flaring up again with the arrest of protesters blocking the railroad tracks today.(AP Photo/Don Ryan)
Question: Have you ever experienced Mace or tear gas?
Sitting in a hotel lobby in a white cowboy hat, black vest and a rodeo belt buckle, an old cowboy touted the 
health benefits of snuff. People have gone to dentists to have teeth pulled after picking up the habit, only to find out their gums have strengthened and the procedure is no longer necessary. It curbs hunger and helps you lose weight. It soothes the stomach and helps fight colds. The snuff Dave Holt was talking about wasn’t Copenhagen or Skoal but a concoction born of his own imagination. It’s an alfalfa-based product laced with water, honey, peppermint oil and cayenne pepper. The legume base, Holt says, even has a higher percentage of protein than a T-bone steak/Jason Bacaj, Bozeman Chronicle. More here.
Question: Have you ever chewed snuff?
You do know the odds are on your side, don’t you? You know it’s unlikely to encounter a grizzly in the backcountry, or a mountain lion in your backyard, right? Then again, as Han Solo said, “Never tell me the 
odds.” That’s the quandary. Even if you know what the numbers say, you know the numbers do not provide any guarantees. That fact, that basic unpredictability, defines the Idaho outdoors. Steve Stevenson of Winnemucca, Nev., died Friday in what appears to be an unlikely encounter. His hunting partner believed he had shot a black bear — a smaller species and the party’s intended quarry — but had instead shot one of the estimated 45 grizzlies that live along the border between Montana and the Idaho Panhandle. The wounded grizzly charged, killing Stevenson. According to the odds, something like this shouldn’t happen/Kevin Richert, Statesman. More here.
Question: Have you ever been on the losing side when the odds seemed overwhelmingly in your favor?
Class 5A
Team (1st-place votes) W-L Pts. Prev.
1. Coeur d’Alene (8) 4-0 48 1
2. Eagle (2) 3-0 42 2
3. Highland 4-0 30 3
4. Centennial 2-1 15 NR
5. Post Falls 3-1 7 NR
Others receiving votes: Capital 5, Borah 2, Meridian 1.
Question: Remember when Lake City High was the cock of the walk in North Idaho high school football circles. Does the success of Coeur d'Alene High over the last year plus mean that Vik Shawn Amos has become a top-notch football coach or he's simply running through a streak of good players in his district?
Here's a scenario that City Editor Addy Hatch and Senior Editor Geoff Pinnock will present tonight at Hucks Fallfest 2011 as part of the discuss re: newspapers and the social media:
Twitter explodes with tweets about a loud noise in a neighborhood. Someone says they think it was a bomb. Re-tweets fly about a possible bomb in the neighborhood, including from some of our competitors. What’s The Spokesman-Review’s response?
Question: What should we do?
Bison graze, just inside Yellowstone National Park near Gardiner, Mont. State officials have lowered the estimated costs for a proposal to relocate and manage Yellowstone bison. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks' initial draft Environmental Assessment had put the startup costs for relocating about 80 bison to the Spotted Dog and the Marias wildlife management areas at $2.1 million, plus annual operating costs of $277,800. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren,File)
In this 1994 file photo originally released by Warner Bros. Records, alternative rock band R.E.M., from left, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe, Bill Berry, and Peter Buck are shown when they released their new album “Monster.” The band announced today on their website that they are breaking up. (AP Photo/Warner Bros.)
Question: Which popular band breakup upset you most?
Here's one of the subjects we'll be discussing tonight at the Hucks Fallfest w/Addy & Geoff (5:30 p.m. @ Fort Ground Grill):
Someone tweets a fact; people immediately start re-tweeting it. That’s how Twitter works. But do news organizations have a heightened responsibility to verify the information before re-tweeting? What if the original tweet comes from a public agency? Even if we note that we haven’t verified the information, does the fact that we’re re-tweeting it give it credibility?
Question: What do you think?
Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, and at least four other lawmakers were in Ankara Tuesday 
when the first deadly bomb attack in four years hit the city. Others on the trip are Senate GOP Caucus Chairman John McGee (pictured), R-Caldwell, and his wife, Hanna; Sen. Joe Stegner, R-Lewiston, and his wife, Deborah; Senate Minority Caucus Chairwoman Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum; and Rep. Donna Pence, D-Gooding, and her husband, Lew. Hill's wife, Julie, also is on the trip. It's possible others are in the delegation, as the trip is not sponsored by the state and information was incomplete Wednesday. Three were killed and at least 34 wounded in the attack in the busy city center/Dan Popkey, Statesman. More here.
Question: Yeah, I know Idaho is dedicated to improving relations with Turkey? But why?
Kootenai Health plans to buy Spokane-based Heart Clinics Northwest, the Coeur d’Alene-based medical center said today. The acquisition will expand cardiac care in the region and enable residents to receive 
comprehensive cardiac care closer to home, community-owned Kootenai Health said in a news release. “This relationship blends Kootenai Health’s strengths of quality, a positive culture and great value with the clinical excellence and breadth of services provided by Heart Clinics Northwest,” Jon Ness, CEO of Kootenai Health, said in prepared statement. Kootenai Health will employ the physicians and staff of Heart Clinics Northwest, which has offices in Coeur d’Alene, Spokane and Sandpoint as well as satellite clinics throughout North Idaho, Eastern Washington and western Montana/SR. More here.
Reaction?
A St. Maries woman is convinced she’s spotted wolves within city limits. Two others are sure they’ve heard 
them. While deer-watching one evening Brittany Odekirk caught a glimpse of more alarming wildlife. “We have a calico deer that is white from the mid-side back and I’ve been sitting and watching for it to take some pictures and I saw the wolves instead,” she said. “I’ve been watching them now for three weeks.” The wolves run through the field on the hill across from her home at Second Street and Dakota Avenue. “I’ve seen them twice on two different days and heard them twice on two other days,” she said. “We believe it is a mom and her pups, because several of the howls are more like yips”/Mary Orr, St. Maries Gazette-Record. More here. (St. Maries Gazette photo: Brittany Odekirk and her daughter Madison stand on their back porch.)
Question: How concerned would you be about wolves if they were this close to your home?
“We were lucky nobody was hurt, not even their pets,” said Tina Smithson, manager of Falls Park Apartments in Post Falls on Tuesday morning after a fire burned a second floor balcony into the third floor at 2 a.m. In all, 41 residents were evacuated. SR story here.
George B. Hatley, known worldwide as “Mr. Appaloosa,” was remembered here Tuesday for his tireless 
promotion of the spotted horse breed. He was also remembered for his dedication to the Appaloosa Horse Club and Museum, his compassion as a friend to many and his tenacious love of life. “We were married 64 years. And you know, we worked together all of our lives,” Hatley's widow, Iola Hatley, said at the couple's home. “George was really a famous person, but he never cared about things like that. He was humble. He was just a guy who enjoyed people.” George Hatley died Friday at the age of 87. Hatley took the reins in 1947 of what is today an Appaloosa Horse Club headquartered here with an international membership/David Johnson, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Which breed of horse is your favorite?
Call it the fabric of civic involvement. Volunteering. Cooperating with your neighbors. Joining with groups. Voting. If you see people who care enough about their communities to volunteer and join hands, chances are 
they'll vote as well. If not, something's wrong. So says the Corporation for National and Community Service, an umbrella group that is responsible for everything from AmeriCorps to taking the nation's temperature for community participation. Washington is ranked ninth in the nation in terms of neighbors working together, 11th for volunteering, fourth for banding together within organizations and sixth for voting, with 52.8 percent of those eligible casting a ballot last year. Then we have Idaho. It's ranked fifth for neighborliness, 10th for volunteering and 17th for group participation. Voting? The Gem State is no better than 25th/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Why is voter turnout so poor in a patriotic state like Idaho?
The biggest news in last week's GOP presidential debate was Rep. Michele Bachmann's attack on Texas Gov. Rick Perry for ordering Texas girls to receive the “HPV” vaccine preventing cervical cancer. Bachmann called 
the vaccine against the human papillomavirus “dangerous,” a claim immediately countered by health experts. In a story in Monday's New York Times, medical reporter Denise Grady wrote, “But the harm to public health may have already been done. When politicians or celebrities raise alarms about vaccines, even false alarms, vaccination rates drop.” Idaho earns the distinction of having the lowest HPV vaccination rate of any state, with 17 percent of girls between 13 and 17 having received the recommended three vaccines. Others below 20 percent included Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama. The national average is 32 percent. Rhode Island has the highest rate, 55 percent/Dan Popkey, Statesman. More here. (AP file photo)
Question: Should girls be required to receive the “HPV” vaccine preventing cervical cancer?
Kat Hall, a project manager for The Lands Council, kneels Tuesday among some of the ponderosa pine trees the group is growing at a home in Millwood for future restoration projects. You can read Becky Kramer's SR story here. (SR photo: Jesse Tinsley)
An animal protection group plans a dramatic protest against fishing Wednesday in downtown Spokane. Topless PETA protestors plan to lie “dead” on the ground, covered with body paint and fish tails in front of Sushi Dot Com. PETA held a similar protest Tuesday in Seattle. PETA says that killing fish for food or sports is wrong because fish are intelligent and can feel pain/KREM.
Question: Would anyone pay attention to PETA if it didn't occasionally toss nudity into the mix?
According to data reported by the United States Department of Labor, the state of Idaho paid nearly $82 million 
in improper unemployment benefits in the last three years. Many of the erroneous payments, 34 percent, were made to recipients who returned to work but continued receiving money. Another 34 percent of payments went to citizens with “work search issues,” meaning that the department was unable “to validate that the individual has met the state’s work search requirements, which disqualifies the claimant from being eligible for benefits.” Bob Fick, spokesman for the Idaho Department of Labor, told IdahoReporter.com Tuesday that his agency has 20 people on staff constantly working to identify improper payments/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. More here.
Question: Business as usual? Or did the Department of Labor really mess up?
LastDemoInIdaho: Attended an interesting meeting of the Lake City Senior Citizens Board this evening. The 
board is claiming a dire future for the Lake City Senior Center unless they figure out a way to significantly increase income. Bingo and lunches and pool player dues and a few facility rentals are not doing it. Board chair Panabaker revealed an interesting fact that the city of Hayden contributes 35,000 dollars a year to keep the Hayden Senior Center going. The Lake City facility gets no help at all from any city or county funds, except snow/ice removal of the parking lot from the city of CDA. Nice, but not enough. More below.
Question: Should the city of Coeur d'Alene of Kootenai County provide funding so the Lake City Senior Center can keep its doors open?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
Steve Widmyer and I worked out the final details to the first Hucks Online Fallfest at his Fort Ground Grill Wednesday evening. The taco bar will be ready. City Editor Addy Hatch and Geoff Pinnock are primed pick your brains re: how newspapers can better use social media without losing credibility. All that's needed is you. Come and join the Hucks Online blog/Twitter/Facebook crowd at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Everything's free but the beer. Now for your Wild Card …
A monarch butterfly lands on a wild sunflower seed pod in an Olathe, Kan. field Sunday. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
You know, the first couple of days of snow you marv at the beauty of the fields and yard. And don’t mind, 
maybe, shoveling a little? But when the snow comes fast and furious, it gets old real fast … Same with tomatoes. The first one comes and you savor the flavor of it. You might pick the second one, that is a little orangey, a little early and put it in the window with anticipation of the taste soon. Then there are a couple more, but lots of green ones. The weather is getting colder and you are wondering are they going to be ripe in time, as there are almost 100 or more green ones. Now 6 at a time are ripening.. you give some away as your refrigerator drawer is starting to fill up/Cis, From A Simple Mind. More here.
Question: Do any of you have too many tomatoes this year? What other bumper crops did you have?
“Sometimes I have to remind myself that it is OK to take a non-work related photograph.” writes SR colleague Colin Mulvany, Snaps & Frames. “Sunset photos happen everyday, but it was the graphic look of the silhouetted telephone poles stacked up against the orange sky that made me pull over. Thankfully, I had put my 20-year-old Nikon 300 mm f/4 lens in my trunk for another assignment. Its telephoto effect worked perfectly on this highway scene leading into Medical Lake, Washington. Sometimes a pretty picture is just that. Looking at this image just makes me feel good. Nikon D3s with a Nikkor 300mm f/4 lens.”
A fan watches as the baseball drops away as Boston Red Sox left fielder Conor Jackson, right, leaps into the crowd on an unsuccessful attempt to catch a foul ball by Baltimore Orioles' J.J. Hardy in the first inning during the second game of a baseball doubleheader at Fenway Park in Boston on Monday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Top Cutlines:
Marc Hayes, a research scientist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, pushes a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag under the skin of an Oregon spotted frog that will help in tracking the juvenile frog raised at the Woodland Park Zoo. Hayes and zoo staff were preparing to release 700 endangered Oregon spotted frogs raised at the zoo for the spotted-frog-restoration project. The frogs will be released next month. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Steve Ringman)
Question (for Ladies of Hucks Online): How many frogs did you kiss before you found your prince?
So Hillary Clinton is the most popular national figure in America. I've even heard there has been a movement 
for her to challenge Obama in a primary. She could, you know. And probably win because all her fans would come out in force. But I doubt she will unless things get far worse than they already are. She's too good a soldier. Hindsight being 20/20, I do believe either she or McCain would have been the better President. Both look at the country more like most of us. They'd be trying to strengthen it from the damage done before rather than trying to change it to match an ideology of mediocrity/Dogwalk Musings. More here. (AP file photo)
Question: Do you want Hillary Clinton to challenge President Barack Obama in the 2012 Democratic primary?
The University of Idaho distributes 1,400 scholarships to students each year, most of which are contributions from personal donors. But donors don’t often receive personal thank yous from the students who receive 
these scholarships. The UI Thank-A-Thon is an opportunity to express gratitude toward the people who make obtaining a higher education possible for many students. The event includes thank you cards and postage, and is scheduled for today from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Idaho Commons Clearwater and Whitewater rooms. All students have to do is set a few minutes aside and write a meaningful note — and sometimes these cards are the only form of contact between donors and scholarship recipients/Elisa Eiguren, UI Argonaut. More here.
Question: Have you or family members received scholarships that helped with higher education expenses? Did you think the donor(s)?
Nearly 500 votes were cast in the 2011 North Idaho Straw Poll and Texas Governor Rick Perry continued his 
recent track record of leading the pack of 2012 Presidential Candidates with 123 votes for a commanding lead of 25% of the vote. Texas Congressman Ron Paul finished in 2nd place beating Sarah Palin, who has not announced as a candidate, by one vote 55 to 54. Congressman Paul had been in a distant 3rd place until a late surge online. The majority of the votes, over 90 %, were cast at the North Idaho Fair in August. The remaining were cast at the Website of the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans. … Michelle Bachman and Mitt Romney tied for 4th place with 39 votes and 8% each. Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey came in 6th place with 25 votes just garnering 5%.: www.ReaganRepublicans.net. More here.
Question: Which surprises you more — that Perry won the presidential straw poll on the Republican side or that Hillary Clinton tied President Barack Obama with 12 votes apiece on the Democratic side?
Julian Chang of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, from left, cheers with Senator Mark Leno, retired Navy Commander Zoe Dunning, veteran Keith Kerr, and retired U.S. Navy Petty Officer Joseph Rocha at a news conference in San Francisco onTuesday. The U.S. military passed a historic milestone Tuesday with the repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in uniform, ending a prohibition that President Barack Obama said had forced gay and lesbian service members to “lie about who they are.” (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Question: Do you suport the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell?
North Idaho College art instructor Michael Horswill, whose work can be seen at The Art Spirit Gallery in downtown Coeur d'Alene, has been 
named winner of the Excellence in the Arts award of the 16th Annual (Coeur d'Alene) Mayor's Awards in the Arts. “Excellence in the Arts” recognizes artists who have made a significant contribution to the awareness of the arts in Coeur d'Alene. It is evaluated on community participation, previous recognition received, and the quality and originality of art work. Others winners announced by the Coeur d'Alene Arts Commission are: Roberta Larsen, Support of the Arts; David Groth, Education in the Arts; and Mike & Kim Normand, Special Recognition. The Normands are being honored for their work on the Shared Harvest Community Garden at 10th & Foster. Mayor Sandi Bloem will present the awards at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. (A mixed-art sample of Horswill's work from Art Spirit)
Question: Have you ever participated in a monthly ArtWalk in downtown Coeur d'Alene?
Coca-Cola Co. is extending its lineup with smaller package sizes at lower price points aimed at consumers 
watching their budgets and their waistlines. This week, the beverage giant is expected to announce the launch of a 12.5-fl.oz. bottle that retails for 89¢ (round off to a 90¢ vend price). It will join Coke's 16-fl.oz., 99¢ bottle that rolled out nationwide in convenience stores last year as an alternative to the pricier 20-fl.oz. bottle, according to The Wall Street Journal. Coca-Cola is also hoping to spur sales by reducing the suggested retail price on its recently introduced eight-pack of 7.5-fl.oz. 100-calorie Coke “mini'' cans in supermarkets by about 20% to $2.99/Vending Times. More here. (AP file photo)
Question: Are you interested in this new product? And/or: What is your soft drink of choice?
A bull moose, appearing tired from struggling with the steep sides and swift flowing water in the Esquatzel Diversion Channel, curls up to rest on a clump of grass growing out of cracks in the concrete lined irrigation canal Monday, about six miles north of Pasco. An officer from the Department of Fish and Wildlife later shot the animal because officials couldn’t determine a safe way to rescue the animal. The meat will be donated to the Tri-City Union Gospel Mission. (AP Photo/Tri-City Herald: Bob Brawdy)
In “other business” tonight, the Coeur d'Alene City Council will discuss formation of a Dike Road ad hoc committee, to fight the demand by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clear cut trees, including viewtiful 
ponderosas, along Rosenberry Drive (b/n the waterfront & North Idaho College). After much uproar, some City Council members have shifted position from reluctant acceptance of the demand to opposition. Many in the community are dead set against cutting the trees as a possible deterrent to a major flood. The army corps has received much criticism in communities around the West, including Sacramento, Calif., for issuing a one-size-fits-all demand to remove trees from flood-prevention levees. The corps maintains that the tree roots weaken the levee. But a study it conducted sez that they sometimes don't. Meanwhile, the Kootenai Environmental Alliance has collected 3,000 signatures in opposition to removing the trees. You can read the council's agenda for tonight's meeting here. (SR file photo: Kathy Plonka)
Question: Have you signed a petition in opposition to tree removal, either on line or in person?
All six were originally charged with assembling to disturb the peace and refusal to disperse after allegedly 
entering Washington Street on Aug. 26 and trying to block the movement of a megaload through town. The four who pleaded guilty, each to one reduced misdemeanor count of failure to comply with a peace officer's traffic direction, are Brett Haverstick, 38, Vincent Murray, 61, David Willard, 52, and Gregory Freistadt, 26. All four, who are represented by Dana M. Johnson of the Northern Rockies Justice Center, have been ordered to pay $240 in fines and court costs, according to court records. The two still moving toward trial on the initial charges are William French, 55, and Mitchell Day, 40. French also faces a misdemeanor charge of malicious injury to property for allegedly kicking out a Latah County sheriff's vehicle window/David Johnson, Lewiston Tribune. More here. (AP file photo)
Question: Would you have taken the deal if you were one of the 6 protesters arrested?
With the start of fall comes the start of the flu season and the arrival of flu vaccine at the Panhandle Health 
District (PHD). Health experts recommend flu vaccinations for everyone six months old and up. The flu virus is contagious and spreads quickly, particularly in group settings such as school and workplaces. The vaccine is the best protection from the flu. PHD’s Hayden office, 8500 N. Atlas Rd., has flu vaccine for all ages and has scheduled clinics to provide it to the public. No appointments are necessary. Vaccinations are $29 for adults and $10 for children. PHD accepts cash, checks, credit cards, Medicaid and Medicare Part B. People should bring insurance cards and any supplemental insurance information. Dates for flu vaccination clinics here.
Question: Do you get an annual flu shot?
Got a case of the Mondays? Here in Washington, there are a lot of people who — surprise! — don't really like 
their jobs. Even people who work at Seattle-area mainstays like Boeing and Microsoft sometimes feel like caged chimpanzees for 40 hours a week. CareerBliss, an online resource that hosts salary information and rates workplace satisfaction, has a list of the most dissatisfying jobs in Washington state, based on 1,200 survey respondents. Here are the top 10 — or, perhaps we should say, bottom 10. Is your job on the list? (1. sales rep, 2. systems engineer, 3. account manager, 4. software developer, 5. customer service rep, 6. account exec, 7. general manager, 8. sales associate, 9. program manager, and 10. business analyst. (AP file photo)
Question: Do you like your job? Is it on this list?
Alex McLean, a senior at Timberlake High School/Spirit Lake is an avid bow hunter who boasts of being able to “Robin Hood” an arrow on numerous occasions. (He can shoot a bull's eye, then split the arrow with another shot, reports photographer David Nall). Alex still has the target he used with the two arrows, one split right down the middle up to the halfway point, hanging in his room as proof. Nall snapped this photo in a group of trees right down the divider of Seltice Way, in Post Falls, near the National Guard. See David Nall's Facebook page here.
Gov. Butch Otter said Tuesday that he will allow the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and Idaho Department of Insurance to ask the federal government for $30.9 million of grant money to start a health 
insurance exchange for the state. The exchange will be a marketplace for people and groups to compare and buy health insurance. The style of marketplace has been likened to travel-shopping websites. The governor had banned all use of federal money to implement the 2010 health care reform law. But he left open the possibility of a waiver for programs that already were in place in Idaho or that weren’t directly related to health care. Unless Idaho sets up its own exchange, the state will default to the federal government’s exchange. The deadline for applying for the grant is Sept. 30/Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: What do you make of Gov. Butch Otter's about-face on Obamacare?
Hucks Online has scheduled another blog confab at the Fort Ground Grill, as part of a national social media program involving City Editor Addy Hatch (pictured) & Senior Editor Geoff Pinnock. We'll provide a taco bar and soft drinks via Steve Widmyer's fine crew at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Addy provide the purpose of Hucks Fallfest here:
Associated Press Managing Editors has embarked on a nationwide project on using social
media as a news gathering and reporting tool. The Spokesman-Review is taking part in one aspect of the project: “how to verify, and when to publish, social media communications.” Most news organizations are now using Twitter and Facebook extensively in their news reporting, but it raises questions about whether readers differentiate between news companies and — well, everyone else who says “I heard….” — on social media. We'll go over results from an online poll, and ask the HBO faithful to chew over what specific things they believe news organizations can do to enhance our credibility on social media.
Anyone who follows Hucks Online on this blog, Twitter, or Facebook is welcome to attend. Taco bar will be ready at 5:30, townhall meeting re: newspapers and social media to follow.
Question: What can news organizations do to enhance our credibility on social media?
Jon Cryer portrays Alan Harper, left, and Ashton Kutcher portrays Walden Schmidt in Kutcher's debut on the CBS comedy “Two and a Half Men,” which aired Monday. (AP Photo/CBS, Danny Feld)
Question: Did Ashton Kutcher's performance make you forget Charlie Sheen?
Today, I would like to thank the wealthy people who have created my jobs. If only I'd been able to give them something of value in return — Shawn Vestal, SR, via Twitter.
Loyal readers at this spot know that I occasionally rage against the dying of the light of local journalism. The 
days of independent, community-minded and engaged newspapers, television and radio stations does seem to me more and more imperiled, which makes the passing of J. Robb Brady, the long-time publisher and editorialist of the Idaho Falls Post Register, a singularly sad milestone. Brady was a young 92 when he died Sunday in Idaho Falls. His wife Rose – they were married for 69 years — died earlier this year. Robb Brady was, as the younger set might say, “old school.” His office looked like it could have been at home on the set of the old television show “Lou Grant.” Robb truly had printer’s ink in his veins and it was obvious he took great pride and satisfaction in running a family-owned newspaper/Marc Johnson, The Johnson Report. More here. (Courtesy photo: Idaho Falls Post Register)
Question: What journalists would you describe as “old school” and having “printer's ink in his veins”?
In a blunt rejoinder to congressional Republicans, President Barack Obama called for $1.5 trillion in new 
taxes Monday, part of a total 10-year deficit reduction package totaling more than $3 trillion. He vowed to veto any deficit reduction package that cuts benefits to Medicare recipients but does not raise new revenues. “We can't just cut our way out of this hole,” the president said. The president's proposal would predominantly hit upper income taxpayers but would also reduce spending in mandatory benefit programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, by $580 billion. It also counts savings of $1 trillion over 10 years from the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan/Associated Press. More here. (AP file photo)
Question: Do the rich pay enough in taxes?
It’s getting to be a common thread for Yakima Valley agriculture in 2011. Like so many crops before it, the 
apple harvest is late, in some cases as much as two weeks. At Yakima Valley Orchards northeast of here, pickers just started making the first of what will be two passes of color-picking of Gala apples, selecting the reddest fruit now and leaving the remaining to gain color before the next round. Travis Allan, 35, president of Yakima Valley Orchards, which is affiliated with Allan Bros. Fruits of Naches, said although harvest is behind, at least it’s started. “We are getting into the full swing of harvest,” Allan said/David Lester, Yakima Herald-Republic. More here. (AP photo)
Question: Do you grow your own apples? Go to Green Bluff to pick apples? Or buy apples in a grocery?
PETA wants to get into porn to make people more aware of animal abuse. The Norfolk-based animal-rights 
group has applied to launch a website under the soon-to-be-available “.xxx” domain, which will feature pornographic sites, Lindsay Rajt, the organization's associate director of campaigns, said Monday. “As soon as we heard that the.xxx domain was becoming available, we thought that would be triple extra effective in helping us bring our important issues of animal rights and eating a vegan diet to a greater number of people,” said Rajt, who is based in Los Angeles. The site, she said, will have nudity and “sexually suggestive content” but not hard-core porn: “A lot of people distinguish between erotica and pornography, and this will be erotica”/Philip Walzer, Virginian Pilot. More here. (AP file photo)
Question: Will this help or hinder PETA's cause?
Eighth-grader Hannah Woods shares a laugh with other students Monday while looking for fossils from rock gathered from Clarkia in July. Fourth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from Holy Family Catholic School participated in the activity as part of earth science at the school in Coeur d'Alene. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)
The year 2012 is the 75th anniversary of the Idaho Potato Commission, and the organization is planning 
several major events to kick off a yearlong celebration, according to Frank Muir, president of the commission. One of those major events will be the launching of a yearlong 75th Anniversary Famous Idaho Potatoes Tour featuring a semi-truck with a flatbed trailer carrying a giant replica of an Idaho potato. A famous souvenir postcard from Idaho depicts a giant potato on the back of a flatbed truck. That image was the inspiration for the tour — the commission decided to “make it come to life” by building an oversized potato onto the back of a big rig and drive it all over the country for everyone to see/Rand Green, Produce News Daily. More here. H/T: Jorja (Twitter)
Question: Are you one of us North Idahoans who don't want our state known for potatoes?
Three
out of 10 college students are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control. This was the case for University of Idaho graduate Courtney Rainville, before she was a contestant on season 12 of “The Biggest Loser,” which premieres at 8 p.m. Tuesday on NBC. Rainville graduated in 2009 with a degree in communications and now works as an Internet marketing specialist in Scottsdale, Ariz. She was born in Lewiston and has struggled with weight since she was a young girl. “I’ve always been aware that I was overweight,” Rainville said. At 270 pounds, she said there were many moments throughout her day when she couldn’t fit comfortably in clothes and couldn’t cross her legs. She said she is 24 years old and had never had a boyfriend or gone on a date/Lindsey Treffry, UIdaho Argonaut. More here. (Photo of Courtney Rainville courtesy of NBC)
Question: Are you obsessed with weight loss & gain?
When it comes to pre-kindergarten in Idaho, it’s a lot easier to make excuses than it is to make progress. In that sad spirit and troubling tradition, state schools Superintendent Tom Luna has no interest in seeking federal seed money to move pre-K off dead center. Luna wants the state to dump plans to compete for up to $50 million in federal “Race to the Top” grants for pre-K. He’s on the wrong side on this issue, and pretty much standing on his own.
Question: How important is pre-kindergarten education to Idaho's children?
I get asked all the time to update some of the “big” stories that I’ve been lucky enough to stumble across in my 97 years of writing columns for the hometown tattler. Well, like a full-service massage parlor, I aim to squeeze. 
So on Monday morning I boarded my Vista Guzzler and set sail east to revisit the Spokane Valley’s foremost ashtray collector. I’ll be honest. I hadn’t given much thought to Ray Blowers or the tale I once wrote about his ashtray addiction. It was 1995, after all. But Blowers beamed me an email last week to jog my memory and to make an announcement. Ashtray Ray is making a serious attempt to liquidate his entire 1,000-plus ashtray inventory. What a shocker. This is the Spokane Valley equivalent of the Guggenheim unloading all of its Picassos/Doug Clark, SR. More here.
Question: What do you collect?
Signe Wilkinson/Philadelphia Inquirer
Don't forget that Hucks Online is sponsoring a workshop/blogfest at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Steve Widmyer's Fort Ground Grill. City Editor Addy Hatch and Senior Editor Geoff Pinnock will lead a discussion re: how newspapers can better use social media to keep their readers informed w/o losing credibility. We'll have a free taco bar and pop to feed and water you. You'll also have a chance to hobnob with friends that you might have missed at Bent's Summerfest a coupla months ago. All blog/Twitter/Facebook followers of Huckleberries are welcome to Hucks Fallfest with Addy & Geoff. Now for you first Wild Card of the work week …
Members of the audience at a fashion show, part of The London Fashion Week, include Pippa Middleton, the sister of Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, front 4th left, with from left, Donna Air, Peaches Geldof, and American actress Rosario Dawson, pictured during the Temperley London Spring/Summer 2012 fashion show held at the British Museum in London on Monday. (AP Photo / Katie Collins, PA)
Question: When did you last attend a fashion show?
President 
Obama's proposed budget cuts cover a wide range of government services, and one impact would be on your mailbox. It would be empty on Saturdays if the administration's latest proposal goes through. These and other changes would allow the U.S. Postal Service to avoid default at the end of the month, according to documents accompanying the debt reduction plan Obama proposed Monday. The Postal Service has also proposed ending Saturday delivery, an idea that must win assent in Congress/David Jackson, USA Today. More here. (AP file photo)
Question: Should the feds end Saturday mail to cut the deficit by $19B over 10 years?
The CEO of Netflix said he was sorry for mishandling a recent price increase that caused customers to cancel the service in droves. But the apology was drowned out by a decision that angered subscribers all over again. 
The company will split into two services — one with an odd new name that offers the familiar discs in red envelopes and another for online streaming of TV shows and movies. The DVD service will be called Qwikster, a name that is supposed to signify a commitment to fast service but quickly became an object of ridicule Monday on the Internet. The streaming service will keep the Netflix name/Associated Press. More here. H/T: Duroc (for introducing this topic on Wild Card)
Question: Have you quit Netflix as a result of the previous price increase? Do you plan to quit Netflix now?
Good and evil battle it out, as an internationally acclaimed cast bring Gunoud’s Faust to the stage at North Idaho College, for Opera Coeur d’Alene, at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Faust’s love songs soar on Vale Rideout’s (right) majestic high C’s. Shana Blake Hill (left) is the beautiful Marguerite. Jamie Offenbach (above) the chilling Méphistophélès. Jason Detwiler is Valentin. Michele Detwileris Siebel. The opera will be in French with English translations projected over the stage. Visit operacda.com or call 769 7780 for tickets.
While waiting for their turn to audition for the Nutcracker, a few boys spent part of the time making faces as they stared into a mirror. Kids auditioned for one of the much-coveted roles in Pacific Northwest Ballet's production of the Nutcracker at the Phelps Center at Seattle Center Sunday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Ellen Banner)
Top Cutlines
Five wanted men head Major Ben Wolfinger's wanted list at the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department this week, including Dante Marquis, Johnson (upper left), 23, of Spokane, who's wanted on a felony warrant of a charge of injury to child, with bail set at $50,000. Others wanted on felony warrants are: Michael Wade Whitt (upper center), 44, of Hayden for probation violation on a conviction for possession 
of a controlled substance ($35,000 bail); Colton John Tindall (upper right), 19, of Coeur d'Alene, for probation violation for aggravated assault (25,000 bail); Haitham Omar Jodeh (lower left), 35, of Tacoma, Wash., for grand theft ($25,000 bail); and James Andrew Harris (lower right), 42, of Post Falls, for probation violation for grand theft (no bond set). You can read who's wanted on misdemeanor warrants here.
Artist Tom Wilson Jr. draws a Ziggy cartoon celebrating the strip's 35th anniversary at his home in Loveland, Ohio. Tom Wilson Sr, the creator of hard-luck comic strip character Ziggy has died, he was 80. Spokesman Josh Peres with Universal Uclick, the Kansas City, Missouri, syndication company formerly known as Universal Press Syndicate, says Wilson Sr. died Friday after a long illness. Wilson's son, Tom Wilson Jr., who has produced the panel since 1987, says his father died of pneumonia at a Cincinnati hospital. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)
Question: Any Ziggy fans out there? And/or: Which current, long-running cartoon strip is your favorite?
Herb Huseland brings us up to date on the life-and-death struggle still facing hammer-attack victim Yvonne Wallis of Bayview. Yvonne, along with son, Michael, daughter-in-law, Patty Heath, and Patty's son, Jedidiah, 
were attacked by a allegedly deranged man living next door, Larry Cragun. Heath died in the pre-Christmas 2010 attack. Since then, Yvonne has undergone a series of serious surgeries. Herb: “(Yvonne) is now at home, where a few friends and neighbors have volunteered and were trained to give those treatments twice a day, for probably the next six weeks. Assuming that the infection will be beaten by then, she will be transported back to the University of Washington for a permanent plate to be installed. Nothing is guaranteed. She is still in a life threatening condition and without great care, could fail to survive.” Herb is trying to raise $500 to help w/transportation expenses for Yvonne for an operation that will install a permanent plate. More here.
Hucks Online numbers (for week of Sept. 11-17): 45.737 page-views/28,414 unique views
Boundary County Commissioners were among many to receive an email Friday from John O'Connor, ower of Bonners Books, criticizing the “shrill” letter county commissioners sent to the Idaho Congressional Delegation 
and Governor Butch Otter August 22. “I became immediately irritated when I read this email,” commission chair Ron Smith (pictured) said. “He showed absolutely no compassion for Jeremy Hill or his family.” Titled “An open letter to Senator Jim Risch,” O'Connor's letter begins, “You were recently sent a shrill letter from our Boundary County Commissioners, dated August 22nd, having to do with the shooting of a grizzly bear by local resident Jeremy Hill. O'Connor continues: “”The letter was sent without the full support of the community, and obviously before the commissioners bothered to gather important facts about the case”/Mike Weland, News Bonners Ferry. More here.
Question: I'd say book store owner John O'Connor is the loneliest man in Boundary County, wouldn't you?
I remember when I first blogged on the possibility of Hillary Clinton resigning her position as Sec of State in order to run against President Obama. Folks responded with a variety-on-the-same-theme: “What are you 
smokin'?” After years of working with ex-addicts and ex-inmates, I laughed…sort of. “You don't have to be high, to see illusions”, I remember telling a friend. “Obama's strength is an illusion. That's where the pipe-dream is.” Barack Obama, the President, is not who the Democrats voted for when they chose him as Barack Obama, The Nominee/Dennis Mansfield. More here.
Other Idaho Blogs:
Question: Who would you prefer to run as the Democratic nominee in 2012: President Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton?
Prospective employees fill out applications at the new Trader Joe's store in Lincoln Heights on Friday. Trader Joe's company officials say they've received about 2,500 job applications in the past week for jobs at its Spokane store. The store, opening Oct. 28, is still hiring. A second round of applications will be reviewed next week, a spokeswoman said. (SR photo: Christopher Anderson)
Question: Do you know of anyone who has applied for a job at Trader Joe's?
First, you need to know that I occasionally hold onto a library book too long. OK, it's 50-50 re: returning my 
books. But I readily pay the small fine and am up-to-date as of this moment. I've also discovered how easy it is to reserve a book online. Now, on to my gripe. I've been waiting a week for an overdue copy of Dean Koontz's “Dead Town” — the final of five books in the Frankenstein series. The book is a new one at the library. So whoever is bogarting Frankenstein V had a week to read it. And now is at the end of week 2. At noon, I switched my reservation to one that sitting on the shelf at the Athol Library. Luckily, I have other books at home to read in the interim. But I'm still thinking dark thoughts about the library scofflaw who's hanging onto “Dead Town.” (SR file photo: Kathy Plonka)
Question: Are you prompt re: turning your library books back in? Or have you had your share of late fees?
Eman: My oldest is considering UI. What is it like in Moscow as far as being a student is concerned? Is it collegie’? I mean would he get the college experience feeling? He’s considering others as well, of course, but I thought I would get some input from someone there. Anyone else out there have any insight for any of the Idaho schools. BSU, ISU … Would surely appreciate it.
Question: Anyone offer insight to Eman re: college experience at Idaho colleges & universities?
Item: River cleanup riles residents: EPA opts out of local meeting to discuss issue/Brian Walker, Press
More Info: Citizens have noticed what cleaning up the Spokane River — as the feds want — could mean to their sewer bills and growth. They think it stinks. Craig Wilcox, Todd Christensen and Len Crosby have started a grassroots effort called Citizens for Affordable Sewer Rates. The group, the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce and some local businesses had organized a meeting for Sept. 28 in Post Falls to discuss implications of a proposed river cleanup plan.
Question: What do you make of the EPA backing out of a meeting with local residents to discuss cost implications of new rules for discharge permits?
Trying to conquer your fear of public speaking? Take a cue from Nampa High School senior Maddie Hall, who 
went from being terrified of talking in front of people to receiving second place at the 2011 State Speech Tournament in the category of panel discussion. Her secret? “I get so nervous right before a round and then I realize there’s only one person in there that judges me and I picture them in their underwear, and they have to have a tutu on,” confided Hall, who is currently Speech Captain on the Nampa High School Speech and Debate Team/Sharon Strauss, Idaho Press Tribune. More here. (Idaho Press Tribune photo)
Question: Are you afraid of speaking in public?
Washington State University veterinarian Nickol Finch watches as a female golden eagle takes flight east of Lewiston Friday. (AP Photo/Lewiston Tribune, Kyle Mills)
Quick, minimize that web browser with your fantasy football team lineup and pull up that Excel spreadsheet 
you’re supposed to be working on. Your boss is walking by. It’s a scene that perhaps is becoming more prevelant as fantasy football gains popularity. But is the hobby that attracted an estimated 32 million people in the United States and Canada in 2010 sacking workplace production? Fantasy football is a game in which participants called “owners” arranged into a competitive league online earn “fantasy points” by using the statistics of real football players. Some leagues pool money for a winner, and many play for only pride and bragging rights at the office/Stephen Meyers, Twin Falls Times-News. More here. (AP photo of Seattle-Pittsburgh game Sunday)
Question: Do you participate in a fantasy football league? Have you ever spent time at work doing so?
Jude Chisan, 1, foreground, and his mother, Cen Campbell, center, are shown looking through clothes with Serena Weingrod, left, and her daughter, Adah, 2, at Blossom Birth in Palo Alto, Calif. In the U.S., most new parents would count diapers among the “can’t live without” items for bringing up baby. But some are rejecting that conventional wisdom and helping their children use the toilet from the first few weeks and months of life. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Question: How long did it take for you and your spouse to potty train your kids?
Jim Hollingsworth has told Hucks Online this morning that he's withdrawing from his Coeur d'Alene City Council race. Quoth: “After much counsel, I have decided to withdraw from the Coeur d’Alene City Council race, Seat One. My heart really was not in the race, I am going to be in Alaska for two weeks, so hard to run a good campaign, and I did not want to split the race.” Hollingsworth's withdrawal means that only two candidates are competing for the seat: incumbent Ron Edinger and challenger Adams Graves.
Question: Who benefits more from Hollingsworth withdrawing from the race for Seat No. 1 — Edinger or Graves?
If Idaho's economic development strategy of cutting taxes and shrinking government spelled success, ordinary 
Idahoans would be steadily prospering. Just the reverse is happening. The Great Recession stung Idaho workers harshly. Even with fortunes falling everywhere, wages in the Gem State fell to 38th among the states last year, compared to 37th in 2008. But the decline didn't start there. The last time an average Idaho employee earned anywhere close to the national norm was 1977, when the hourly wage came within 12.4 percent. Three decades later, the average wage was 24.3 percent behind. It's not the economy, stupid. It's your stupid politics/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
More Idaho Opinion:
Question: How have you personally been affected by Idaho politics, either in a good way or a bad way?
Grizzlies are high profile this year. A lingering winter and late berry crop kept bears in proximity to humans 
longer than normal, perhaps contributing to a stream of headlines about grizzlies killing people and people killing grizzlies. Meanwhile, a young lady on a big horse charged out of the pack of grizzly stories near Glacier National Park. In a cloud of dust, the 25-year-old wrangler likely saved a boy’s life while demonstrating that skill, quick-thinking and guts sometimes are the best weapons against a head-on charging grizzly. On July 30, Erin Bolster of Swan Mountain Outfitters was guiding eight clients on a horse ride on the Flathead National Forest between West Glacier and Hungry Horse, Mont./Rich Landers, SR. More here. (Courtesy photo: Erin Bolster, a wrangler for Swan Mountain Outfitters near Glacier Park, poses with her horse, Tonk.)
Question: Do you hike, camp, or trail ride much in grizzly country? What do you take along to protect yourself?
My profile of former Idaho Democratic operative John Stocks ran Sunday and included quotes from two other talented Dems, Bruce Reed and Jim Messina. What unites the three? All sought their fortunes elsewhere in 
climates where politics are competitive. “We Democrats have lost too much of our seed corn,” laments former Gov. Cecil Andrus. “There's not a lot of future for Democrats right now in Idaho,” said Mary Lou Reed, a former Democratic senator from Coeur d'Alene who is Bruce Reed's mom and was a mentor to Stocks. Bruce Reed was the first to go, attending Princeton and then becoming a Rhodes Scholar. He went on to work for President Bill Clinton and now is Vice President Joe Biden's chief of staff. Bruce Reed jokes that Stocks supplanted him in his mom's eyes. “I always had to call ahead to make a reservation, because otherwise he was usually sleeping in my bedroom.” Mary Lou Reed countered: “No, no, no! Never that. He really didn't move in”/Dan Popkey, Statesman. More here.
Question: Can you blame John Stocks, Bruce Reed, and Jim Messina for leaving Idaho for bluer pastures elsewhere?
Sister Mary Eucharista,right, and development officer Ann Price visit the chapel on the grounds of the Immaculate Heart Retreat Center on South Ben Burr Road on Sept. 9. At top, Eucharista visits the Rosary Walk on the center grounds. Rebecca Nappi SR story here. (SR photo: Dan Pelle)
The bride was lovely. The groom was nervous. The wedding carriage was spit-shined – a new Kubota tractor upon which bride Libby Stockdale made her grand entrance to her wedding at the Western Pleasure Guest 
Ranch, 16 miles northeast of Sandpoint. Libby’s pop, Doug, was at the wheel. Libby was radiant, sitting in the front bucket, holding a bouquet of sunflowers. Now, Franck Eggelhoffer (Martin Short’s character in “Father of the Bride”) might not approve of Libby’s rural “limo.” But Marianne Love of the Slight Detour blog reports that witnesses enjoyed the “laid-back, warm, friendly gathering” that united Libby and Isaac Schoonover. Adding to the North Idaho flavor, the guests sat on hay bales. Bandannas inscribed with Libby’s and Isaac’s names served as favors/DFO, Hucks Online. More here.
SR weekend columns:
Question: Did you ride in a limousine to your wedding?
In this Sept. 6, 2008, file photo actress Frances Bay poses at an unveiling ceremony for Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. Bay, who tussled with Jerry Seinfeld over a loaf of marble rye and played Adam Sandler's grandmother in “Happy Gilmore” during a career that began in the 1930s, died Thursday. Bay died Thursday at a Los Angeles area hospital after being diagnosed with pneumonia. She was 92. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn, File)
Question: Which “Seinfeld” episode was your favorite?
Item: Survey ranks states’ civic involvement: Washington tops Idaho; both above average/Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise
More Info: Washington ranked fourth in the nation for the number of residents who participate in a group, such as a religious institution or a neighborhood association; sixth for voting; 11th for volunteering; and ninth for working with neighbors to fix a community problem. Idaho ranked 17th for participating in a group; 25th for voting participation; 10th for volunteering; and fifth for working with neighbors to fix a community problem – the state’s highest ranking. However, the numbers were very low in that measurement: Idaho’s high-scoring level was just 13.6 percent participation on average each year over the last three years. Washington’s was 12.8 percent, and the national average was just 8.4 percent.
Question: How would you rate your level of civic involvement?
Charlie Sheen has been on a lot of talk shows lately and, quite frankly, he’s been painful to watch. Yeah, the poor guy appears to be off the crack and back in control. Aw, Charlie, say it ain’t so. I know. That sounds harsh. It’s fashionable to act horrified when famous people veer off the rails or – in Sheen’s case – blow like an aerosol can of bug spray left too close to a campfire. I’m talking about …
“Outrageous,” we huff. “Disgusting!” we puff. Aw, come off it. Be honest. You revel in these celebrity psycho soap operas as much as I do. But I’m here to tell you that it’s not wrong to feel this way/Doug Clark, SR. More here.
Question: Do you enjoy seeing celebrities and politicians crash and burn, deep down?
Item: McEuen tussle: Complaints by retired management consultant against city reviewed/Tom Hasslinger, Press
More Info: Team McEuen delivered everything its contract promised, and allegations asserting otherwise are wrong, the city's parks department said last week. After retired management consultant Frank Orzell complained that criteria in the $125,000 contract wasn't met, parks director Doug Eastwood refuted many of those claims at his City Hall office last week, saying the designers completely fulfilled the original contract. Orzell told the City Council on Aug. 2 that it hadn't been fulfilled, and therefore $60,300 in two new contracts for topography and traffic study work related to the project were unnecessary expenditures. His nine complaints ranged from undelivered bid estimates to a missed deadline, which therefore means the designers should be financially penalized per the contract.
Question: What do you make of Frank Orzell's claims?
Michael Ramirez/Investor's Business Daily
A Twin Falls motorcyclist died today at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle of injuries suffered in a head-on collision with a pickup on U.S. Highway 95 near Sagle early Thursday afternoon, Sept. 8. Lawrence E. Barber, 60, was fatally injured Tajh P. Lecompte, 33, of Elton, La., attempted to make a left turn onto Bottlebay Road in front of his northbound motorcycle. Lecompte was driving a Chevy Silverado pickup. Lecompte was wearing a seatbelt. Barber was wearing a helmet.
Jimmy-MAC tells Hucks Online that he and other members of the Coeur Group, the younger guys' version of Kiwanis/Rotary/Lions, etc., is planning to stage a Coeur d'Alene City Council candidates' forum. Jimmy said he & his pals won't to quiz the 11 candidates on issues that are important to younger guys & their families. I told him to ask tough questions. Too many forums offer nothing but softballs to the nervous candidates. (See: Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce forum) I'll keep you posted on the progress of Jimmy's organization. Now for your Weekend Wild Card …
Texas A&M running back Cyrus Gray (32) rushes for a touchdown as Idaho linebacker Tre'Shawn Robinson (51) and cornerback Kenneth Patten (2) defend during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday in College Station, Texas. Texas A&M won 37-7, dropping the Vandals to 1-2 on the season. ESPN/AP story & boxscore here. And: Josh Wright's SR SportsLink coverage here. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Two hunters who had a deadly encounter with a young male grizzly bear Friday were certain it was a black bear when they shot it, said a third member of their hunting party. The bear killed Steve Stevenson, 39, after it was shot by Ty Bell, 20. Bell is originally from Bonners Ferry but recently moved to Winnemucca, Nev. Ty Bell could not be reached for comment, but his father, Bill Bell, who was hunting nearby, said there was no way his son could have known it was a federally protected grizzly, not a black bear, despite his knowledge about the two species’ distinguishing characteristics. “The thing that people don’t understand is that not all grizzlies have a certain color,” he said. “Not all grizzlies, especially young grizzlies, have the pronounced features of the hump or the dished face. A lot of the younger bears, you can’t tell that they are grizzlies”/Chelsea Bannach, SR. More here.
Question: Is this an understandable mistake?
A grizzly bear wounded by a hunter later attacked and killed the hunter’s partner Friday after the two men tracked 
the animal in a remote area along the Idaho-Montana boarder, authorities said. The dead hunter was identified by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s office as Steve Stevenson, 39, a member of a hunting party from Winnemucca, Nev. The attack occurred about 10 a.m. PDT in a mountainous, heavily forested region in Lincoln County, Mont., near the Canadian border. Stevenson’s hunting partner, 21-year-old Ty Bell, shot and wounded a young male grizzly, believing it to be a black bear, undersheriff Brent Faulkner said. “They tracked the bear into an area of heavy cover where Mr. Stevenson was attacked by the wounded grizzly bear,” Faulkner said in a news release late Friday/Meghann Cuniff, SR. More here. And: Anusha Roy's KXLY story & video here (inset photo courtesy of KXLY.
Question: How will this tragedy affect the congressional debate started by the Idaho congressional delegation re: providing more leeway for individuals to protect themselves against endangered grizzlies?
A P-51 Mustang airplane crashes into the edge of the grandstands at the Reno Air show on Friday in Reno, Nev. The World War II-era fighter plane flown by a veteran Hollywood stunt pilot Jimmy Leeward plunged Friday into the edge of the grandstands during the popular air race creating a horrific scene strewn with smoking debris. Story here. And: More photos here. (AP Photo/Ward Howes)
Jenifer Passmore and her husband, Christopher, have visited the Reno Air Races eight times since 1994. They 
take vacations from their jobs – she works for The Spokesman-Review’s prepress department, he’s a civilian working at Fairchild Air Force Base – and thrill at watching vintage airplanes race across the sky. Those thrills turned to horror Friday, as the Passmores were 100 to 150 feet away from where a vintage P-51 Mustang aircraft crashed, killing the pilot and two spectators and injuring more than 50. “We had debris that came at us,” she said by phone from their Reno hotel. They were not injured, but “we thought we were goners.” “There was so much carnage”/Carolyn Lamberson, SR. More here. (AP photo)
Question: Does this accident make you wary of going to air shows?
Item: Bruning seeks re-election to council/Tom Hasslinger, Coeur d'Alene Press
More Info: It's his first attempt to retain the seat he won four years ago, and the 66-year-old retired U.S. Forest Service contract administrator said it's important the city maintain its progressive vision as it builds toward the future. “The attitude of the council is one that's progressive and always looking forward,” Bruning said. “We've got to do whatever we can to attract jobs and businesses here.” He said it is imperative the city continue developing two of its larger projects, McEuen Field and the education corridor.
Question: Councilman Bruning sez it's imperative that the city continue developing McEuen Field and the education corridor. Do you agree? Would you vote for candidates who didn't?
Former gubernatorial and congressional candidate Rex F. Rammell is scheduled to appear in Magistrate Court here Sept. 27 on a misdemeanor charge of battery involving an altercation with another man a week ago. An 
earlier story in the Lewiston Tribune presumptively indicated Rammell was facing a felony charge. The Tribune's story was based on a probable-cause affidavit filed at the Idaho County Courthouse by Idaho County sheriff's Sgt. Carlos Martinez, which didn't indicate whether Rammell would be charged with a felony or a misdemeanor. A formal complaint was filed at the Idaho County Courthouse Friday. According to Martinez's report, Rammell is accused of twice grabbing another man by the throat during a Sept. 8 confrontation. Rammell said during an interview Friday the Sept. 8 incident involving William Shira had to do with the Shiras allegedly trespassing on Rammell's property/Kathy Hedberg, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Do you expect Rammell to run again for statewide office in Idaho?
Toledo wide receiver Eric Page, center, is tackled by Boise State linebacker (and former Lake City Timberwolf) Byron Hout, left, and cornerback Jerrell Gavins, right, in the second quarter of an NCAA college football game in Toledo, Ohio, Friday. Visiting No. 4-ranked Boise State throttled Toledo 40-15. ESPN/AP story & scoreboard here. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)
Question: Any diehard fans of the Idaho Vandals out there think Boise State isn't worthy of a No. 4 ranking?
At the prison in Tripoli, as July stretched into August, Richard Peters’ captors were growing aggravated. He said he found it easy to resist their efforts to get him to say he was a “spy” for anti-Gadhafi rebels – as a former 
special forces guy, he was tough and smart, and he kept a positive attitude, though they sometimes questioned him for hours. At one point, he said, they tried to use his background against him and accused him of being a “human frog” – a mangling of the term frogman. He says he laughed, angering them further. Meanwhile, Peters had managed to contact people on either side of his cell. They could whisper back and forth through the electrical sockets. Peters spoke to a Spanish prisoner he called Johnny Bravo on one side, and two journalists on the other side. “What I’m doing, I’m talking to them about the Lord,” he said, voice rising in excitement. “I brought Johnny Bravo to the Lord through that 220-volt socket in prison in Tripoli.” Despite the hardship, Peters experienced something exhilarating. “I read my Bible, I prayed, I walked with God – it was incredible,” he said/Shawn Vestal, SR. More here.
Question: Which book would you want with you to read, if you were imprisoned in Libya as Richard Peters of Coeur d'Alene was this summer?
Nick Anderson/Houston Chronicle
Aggressive Toledo scored first but visiting Boise State is leading 13-6 in the closing minutes of the first quarter in their ballgame tonight, which is being aired on ESPN. Also, don't forget that the Idaho Vandals will be traveling to Texas A&M for a 4 p.m. game Saturday. And that Coeur d'Alene & Lake City will be playing California high schools at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow. Huckleberries will be following the action this weekend. Now for your reposted Wild Card …
Longtime broadcast partner Rick Rizzs steps away after sitting down with a statue of the late Seattle Mariners play-by-play announcer Dave Niehaus this afternoon in Seattle. The slightly larger-than-life statue of Niehaus was unveiled in a ceremony that included his widow Marilyn and other family members, team president Chuck Armstrong and former Mariners Jay Buhner and Dan Wilson. The bronze statue is located in the Main Concourse of the Mariners' ballpark, near Section 105 in right-center field. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Question: Have Seattle Mariner broadcaster filled in capably for the late Dave Niehaus this year?
On its Twitter page, North Idaho College is asking followers to describe the community college at the mouth of the Spokane River. The Coeur d'Alenes, of course, have dubbed the property of the old Sherman Fort grounds as “The Gathering Place.” But how about the college itself.
Question: Describe North Idaho College in one word?
It’s Friday night. The hair is done, the fake eyelashes are on, the dress is ironed and gel insoles have been in- 
serted into the sexy five-inch heels. It’s time to go out and meet someone new. An hour goes by and after one too many inappropriate comments from someone old enough to be the bartender’s dad, one thing becomes evident—there was absolutely no reason to suffer through the shoes. Meeting new people and dating at any stage of life can be a difficult task. Going out to a club, bar or social event can take time, money and, for some, a large amount of courage. Many people are turning to Internet for dating assistance to avoid awkward nights like these. Kathryn Rakosnik, UI sophomore, said online dating can be a good alter — native to finding people at parties or bars through trial and error and can eliminate some of the initial tension/Melissa Flores, UI Argonaut RAWR. More here.
Question: Would you consider online dating?
Kathy Plonka, SR photographer extraordinaire, offers another look at PARK(ing) Day in downtown Coeur d'Alene today, with this information: “Less asphalt and more green,” said Janet Torline of Kootenai Environmental Alliance as she participated in the annual global Park(ing)Day in Coeur d'Alene on Friday. The event was designed to call for reclamation of parking places for the benefit of people and parks. With permission from the City of Coeur d'Alene the group reclaimed a few downtown spaces to make their point.
Peter Glazebrook from Newark, England holds his record breaking giant onion that weighed in at 8.150kg in the heaviest onion competition to claim a place in the Guinness book of World Records at the Harrogate, England Autumn flower show earlier today. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/John Giles/PA Wire)
Top Cutlines:
Pecky Cox of As The Lake Churns writes of the photo above: “We have suffered a loss and perhaps one of your readers might be able to help. As you know, we have one of the most photographed rowboats in the State of Idaho. It welcomes both walkers and boaters with its beautiful display of red Geraniums and floating lazily in our little bay with its oars in the water.” More here.
Hucks Online numbers (for Wednesday): 8685/5315; and (for Thursday): 7854/4801
“In the heart of the Silver Valley, down below heights with such old West names as Grizzly Ridge and Cougar Peak, lies a twenty one-square mile Superfund site, the nation’s largest.” Cataldo is well within the box – it’s eight miles from the epicenter, the Bunker Hill Mine” -- Frances McCue, from a wonderful book titled “The Car That Brought You Here Still Runs: Revisiting The Northwest Towns Of Richard Hugo.” Full Down To Earth post by Paul Dillon here.
I sure wish the federal government would stop trying to help us. The latest big-government bailout comes from 
President Obama's so-called “American Jobs Act.”. You've no doubt noticed that the president has refrained from calling it a “stimulus” bill, because it is quite apparent his latest economic swindle won't stimulate anything. Obama's bill would shovel $475 million into the state of Idaho. The White House says its legislation would provide $160 million to keep 2,500 teachers, police officers and firefighters on the job, pay for $190 million in highway and transit projects, supply $105 million for fixes to schools and community colleges and $20 million to fix up vacant or foreclosed homes and commercial buildings. With such a massive boondoggle, it's hard to know precisely where to start with the criticism/Wayne Hoffman, Idaho Freedom Foundation. More here.
Reaction?
Willow, a 6-year calico cat that went missing from her Colorado home during a renovation 5 years ago, sits in a cage at her temporary home on Wednesday in New York's Animal Care and Control (ACC) facility. Willow, found as a stray in Manhattan and brought to ACC, had been tagged with an identification microchip and will soon be reunited with her owners. Story here. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
Question: Why do you love cats more than dogs? Or vice versa?
On her Facebook wall, Cindy tells of her son Sam laying the law down and the blessing of having all boys: “I may no longer be allowed to take Sam to school in my night gown. But I have never heard any of my children say, 'You're not wearing THAT are you?”
Question (for the Ladies of Hucks Online): Have you ever driven your children to school in your night gown or pajamas?
Idaho Statesman opinion editor Kevin Richert just pulled a tongue-in-cheek post that he made re: bears causing slow Internet speeds in Idaho. He did so after learning about the fatal encounter that left a hunter and the bear dead in Boundary County this morning. Kevin tweets: “In light of breaking news from North Idaho, I've yanked my bear/Internet blog post. Not the time for making jokes.” He also asked Hucks Online to remove the post made here from his blog item. Which I did. It was a good, sensitive call on Kevin's part. But the tragedy today raises an interesting question:
Question: Do you view the killing of the controversial killing of the grizzly by Jeremy Hill differently in lieu of today's tragic news?
Kootenai Environmental Alliance board members Janet and Wes set up their “park(ing) day” spot in front of Art Spirit Gallery on Sherman Avenue. KEA photo: Janet Torline and Wes Hanson at Art Spirit Gallery (above) and KEA staffer Adrienne Cronebaugh (inset below). More KEA photos here.
(Today) you will see parking spots in downtown Coeur d’Alene transformed into temporary public open space… one parking spot at a time. PARK(ing) Day is a annual open-source global event where citizens, 
artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public places. So again this year, with the generous good humor of the City of Coeur d’Alene, KEA will be participating in the annual global Park(ing) Day event calling for a reclamation of parking places for the benefit of people and parks. We will reclaim a few downtown spaces on Friday to make our point. Admittedly, downtown Coeur d’Alene is probably the most walkable and appealing destination in our entire region. But it’s not because of parking. In fact, much of the plan for renovating McEuen Park is motivated by removing a dreadful mistake of a parking lot from what is an extraordinary lakeside location. Full news release here.
Question: KEA brings up an excellent point today. One of the worst mistakes ever made by city of Coeur d'Alene forefathers and foremothers was constructing a five-acre parking lot on the lip of McEuen Field. I'd like opponents of McEuen Field changes discuss what they would like to see done with the 3rd Street parking lot.
Take a moment and contemplate life without toilet paper. Sure, it can be done, but for most people, going 
without that convenient roll on the wall in the bathroom is not a pleasant thought. Now take another moment and contemplate the fact that toilet paper cannot be purchased with food stamps. Toilet paper is one of the most requested items at local charities, and last year, Julie Farley, owner of the Make-Up Studio in downtown Spokane and the driving force behind Project Beauty Share, put on a toilet paper drive that collected 10,000 rolls. The second toilet paper drive kicks off Friday. “This year, we have a goal of getting at least 25,000 rolls,” Farley said. “We know it’s needed, and we know that lots of people can’t buy it”/Pia Hallenberg, SR. More here.
Question: Can you imagine life without toilet paper?
Almost one in five Idahoans don't have any kind of health insurance, according to new Census Bureau data for 2010. The census data shows 19.2 percent of the state was uninsured last year, taking a risk with their medical bills and health by choice or necessity. That's about 18 percent higher than the national average. The year-to-year change between 2009 and 2010 was steeper than the national average, too. Idaho had a 27-percent jump in people without health coverage — meaning the state's uninsured population grew about 1.4 times faster than the U.S. as a whole/Audrey Dutton, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Do you and your family have adequate health insurance?
A grizzly bear killed a hunter in Boundary County today before another hunter fatally shot the bear. Officials from the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are at the scene of the attack, which occurred about 10 a.m. in the remote area of Buckhorn Mountain near the Montana border. The hunter who was killed is not a resident of Boundary County, officials said. The victim’s name is being withheld pending family notification. The hunter’s partner shot and killed the attacking grizzly, officials said. Several rifle hunting seasons are open in the Boundary County region, including black bear, mountain lion, wolf and controlled hunts for moose and deer/Meghann Cuniff, SR. More here.
Reaction?
On her Facebook wall, Liz Arakelian posts that she was halfway to work today before realizing that she'd left
her coffee mug on the counter. Seems Liz isn't too crazy about the office coffee because she comments about herself: “Sad panda.” Her post prompted this comment from a FFriend: “Work coffee is crapee.” At the CdA SR, we take terms buying coffee for the pot near the sink. So we're forced to drink whatever is on sale, from brand names to store brands. We have cans of store brand in the cupboard now. It can't touch the ground beans I have at home. But it'll do early in the morning and midafternoon at work.
Question: Is your work coffee fit to drink?
Bikers escort a New York City fire truck and a steel beam from the wreckage of the World Trade Center to a reception during Lt. Dan Weekend in Beaufort, S.C. The weekend is a gathering of military personnel and vets severely wounded in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was named after the character Lt. Dan Band in “Forrest Gump” who lost both his legs in Vietnam, played by actor Gary Sinise. AP story here. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith)
Question: Did you take any life lesson away from the movie, “Forrest Gump”?
This Oct. 22, 2010, file photo shows Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong with her son Lucas, in their home in Boise. Armstrong says she's been replaced on the U.S. world championship cycling team that's competing in Copenhagen, Denmark, after another rider's protest over her inclusion in the time trial was granted. Armstrong told The Associated Press early today in an email that Amber Neben challenged USA Cycling's decision this month to enter Armstrong as one of two American riders in the women's time trial. AP story here. (AP Photo/Matt Cilley)
On her Facebook wall, Post Falls Councilwoman Kerri Thoreson writes (and provides photos) of the reception of the National Guardsman returning from Iraq to the Post Falls Armory last night. The last 30 Guardsmen in two buses were snagged behind a large pileup on I-90 near Ellensburg, Wash. Writes Kerri: “After waiting on pins and needles all afternoon for the busses carrying the last of the 116th finally home, I got the call that they were about 30 minutes out. I headed onto I-90 for the National Guard Armory and had to pull off to catch my breath. The sight of the ladder truck, firefighters and a flag draped over the Idaho Street overpass brought tears to my eyes.” And: “There were over three dozen citizens lining Seltice in front of the armory holding large flags and more than 100 family and friends with flags and signs lining the parking lot.” Among those returning were KCFR Division Chief Dan Ryan and Kerri's nephe, Dallas Rankin Scharf. More photos here.
Steve
Kane, a friend of mine, will be performing his first major role (Tevye) when the Lake City Playhouse production of “Fiddler on the Roof” opens tonight, running through Oct. 9. Steve looks like Tevya. I've already bought tickets and play to attend during the final week of the show. I admire theater actors because they're willing to get on stage, and they have to remember so many lines. As an eighth-grader, I was one of the beads in a living rosary and forgot the lines to the opening part of “Hail Mary.” I was the only one of 53 “Hail Mary” beads that did so. Needless to say, I never had the nerve to perform on stage. How about you? (SR file photo, for illustrative purposes: William Rhodes as Tevya in Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre production)
Question: Have you ever performed in live theater at any level? Which play? Which role?
JEERS … to Congressman Raul Labrador, R-Idaho. When you see somebody resurrecting a piece of former 
Congresswoman Helen Chenoweth-Hage's portfolio, it's a good idea to ask why. Labrador wants Congress enabled to veto the president's authority to declare national monuments under the Antiquities Act of 1906. That's the law that Teddy Roosevelt used to preserve the Grand Canyon. It's the one Franklin Roosevelt applied to help save what became Grand Teton National Park. It's also the law used to expand Idaho's Craters of the Moon/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
More Idaho Opinion:
Question: Who would you trust more to do what's right re: wilderness designations in the West — President Obama or Congressman Labradro?
Go big. That's the message from a bipartisan group of 34 senators, including Idaho Republican Mike Crapo. 
The senators are urging a House-Senate “supercommittee” to go beyond its assignment to find $1.5 trillion in deficit reductions. Instead, say the senators, the supercommittee should seek a bipartisan agreement to cut at least $4 trillion over a decade. It's no surprise to see Crapo on the list (although his colleague, Idaho Republican Jim Risch was not a co-signer). Crapo was a member of President Barack Obama's deficit task force, which last year identified a $4 trillion plan. Crapo also was a member of the Gang of Six, a bipartisan group of senators that proposed $3.7 trillion to $4.7 trillion in cuts/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Do you agree with U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo that Congress needs to “go big” with deficit reduction of at least $4 trillion over the next decade?
On March 2, Richard Peters called his wife, Katie, in Coeur d’Alene from the Libyan capital of Tripoli. Peters, a 62-year-old former Navy SEAL, had been in Libya for two months trying to secure work as a contractor. Escalating protests against Moammar Gadhafi were spreading through the country, and the brutal dictator was fighting back. Tripoli was awash in anti-American passions. Peters told Katie he was getting out, possibly to find work with oil companies or to help train rebels in Benghazi. He hung up. It was the last time she would hear from him for months. SR story by Shawn Vestal here. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)
Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor holds a copy of the Constitution before a recitation of preamble, at the National Constitution Center earlier today in Philadelphia. Saturday marks the 224th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Question: Why is the U.S. Constitution important to you?
The toddler who was trapped underwater when her family's SUV rolled into Fernan Lake last month is now walking and talking again.14-month-old River Deshazer has been released from Sacred Heart Medical Center. But for Blaine Porter, the firefighter whose quick thinking saved the little girl's life, the whole situation is bittersweet because River's brother didn't make it/Anusha Roy, KXLY. More here.
Question: Isn't it nice to start Friday morning with some good news?
LoveToHateMe: Thanks to my high standardized testing scores I didn’t have to take any remedial courses. I was, however, forced to take an English for Idiots course (as I called it). My school had a soft requirement of an 
English Composition course. I think it was EN 121. It covered the very basics of written English—things I’d covered ad nauseam since 6th grade. My counselor insisted that it was necessary, because high school courses just didn’t cut it, not even AP courses. I offered to test out of it, and they allowed that I could do that, but the cost of taking the test was the same as taking the class and would count against my 23-credit limit as a Freshman. I wouldn’t be able to fill the time with other courses. So I ended up just taking the dumb class and wasting three credits of time for a semester. It was annoying.
Question: Which class was the dumbest/lamest one that you took in college?
JimmyMAC: it’s easy to take the things I love about CdA for granted. I don’t care for the gnarly winters when we have them but it probably makes me appreciate the warm seasons that much more. I’m not crazy about the 
industries we have/don’t have, but I feel uber blessed to have a good paying job and get to work with amazing people. My favorite part of CdA is being part of community minded organizations like CdA Summer Theatre, EXCEL Foundation, Coeur Group and Sunshine Rotary. The scenery and access to things I love to do are abundant and I love the vibe of the small town feel with a great neighbor city of Spokane and Seattle and other great Northwest areas a short road trip away. I am, at heart, though very fond of bigger cities but admittedly have never lived in one. If I wasn’t hear, I think I’d look to Denver first to relocate to. But…I love CdA too much.
Question: If you had to live in a big city, which one would it be?
Lisa Benson/Washington Writers Group
Hucks Online has officially begun the countdown to the Fall Blogfest With Addy & Geoff at Steve Widmyer's Fort Ground Tavern (5:30 p.m. next Wednesday). I'll keep reminding you about it. Addy & Geoff will be there to collect info re: the national project they're involved in (newspapers use of the social media). Before and after that, you're invited to enjoy a fall fellowship with other Hucks readers/tweeters/Facebook Friends and gratis a Fort Ground Grill taco bar & soft drinks. (Alcoholic beverages are on you.) You can use this Wild Card to let me know if you plan to attend or say anything else you want …
President Barack Obama awards the Medal of Honor to former Marine Corps Cpl. Dakota Meyer, 23, from Greensburg, Ky., earlier today, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Meyer was in Afghanistan's Kunar province in Sept. 2009 when he repeatedly ran through enemy fire to recover the bodies of fellow American troops. He is the first living Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. Story here. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Question: Has anyone in your family been decorated for valor for defending this country?
HMOffsuite: The year they used tear gas to ‘disperse’ the (hydroplane race) crowd, I was 16. (We had another
thread where we mentioned some stupid stuff we did as a kid?). I thought it would be really ‘cool’ to have a souvenir to take home so I grabbed a ‘spent’ tear gas capsule. Put it in my car for the drive back to Spokane. Lesson learned: Those things keep going for a long time and the smell remained in the car for weeks, in addition to my gassing myself.
Question: Do you have any souvenirs from Coeur d'Alene's bygone days?
Silas Parks reacts to the announcement of charges against him during a court appearance in this July 1, 2009, photo in Moscow. The Idaho man was found guilty of killing his pregnant wife and then setting the home on fire. Now, Parks is appealing his sentence of up to 40 years. Story here. (AP Photo/David Johnson, Lewiston Tribune)
Bruce and Esther Huffman kiss during a interview Thursday in McMinnville, Ore. The elderly McMinnville couple has gained unexpected fame after their accidental webcam video reached viral status on YouTube. The three-minute clip of Bruce and Esther Huffman's attempt to snap a photograph on their new laptop computer had reached more than 285,000 viewers by Wednesday evening. Video here. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Question: Have you seen this YouTube video?
The Los Angeles Times is the latest national mediate organization to take note of the reaction from the 
shooting of a 2YO grizzly by Jeremy Hill of Porthill (near Bonners Ferry). In an article this morning, reporter Kim Murphy writes: “To understand the deep rift over federal regulation of endangered species, one only had to sit in the stands of the annual 4-H auction at the Boundary County Fairgrounds in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, last month, when 14-year-old Jasmine Hill's handsome pig, Regina, went up for sale.” Murphy then goes on to describe how the pig was sold again and again to raise money for Hill's defense in the federal case against him, which later was resolved via plea deal for a $1000 fine. You can read L.A. Times story here (News Bonners Ferry photo/Mike Weland — Jeremy Hill's father, Mike Hill, left, and County Commission Chair Ron Smith (right) spoke with reporters following Jeremy Hill's arraignment August 23 in Coeur d'Alene.)
Question: Have you ever shown an animal at a fair? Tell us about it.
Every year colleges and universities throughout the state assess millions of dollars in tuition expenses to 
students for remedial education. For the 2009-10 school year, according to records obtained by IdahoReporter.com, more than $9 million was spent at Boise State University, Idaho State University, University of Idaho, Lewis and Clark State College, College of Southern Idaho, North Idaho College and College of Western Idaho. Remedial courses are necessary because high school graduates do not test well enough in some or all core subjects – math, English, reading, science – to qualify for acceptance into an entry-level college class/Mitch Coffman, Idaho Reporter. More here.
Question: Why do so many college students need remedial education? Is K-12 getting the job done?
It's easy to pick out the two biggest issues in the 2011 Coeur d'Alene City Council elections — proposed McEuen Field changes and the Lake City Development Corp. But there's a third issue bubbling under the surface — pay for top city employees. Nineteen city employees are paid more than $100,000. Additionally, another 18 employees are paid $73,784 to $98,292) Here's the positions paid over $100,000:
Question: Are top officials in the city of Coeur d'Alene paid too much?
Brandon Wright is wheeled to a news conference by his father Craig Andrus at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, earlier today. Wright, a 21-year-old man who was pulled from beneath a burning car by bystanders says he is grateful to be alive and calls those who saved him “heroes.” Story here. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Scott Sommerdorf)
Question: Have you ever been involved in a rescue?
Perhaps the best team in the region is defending Idaho 5A champ Coeur d’Alene (3-0). I’ll get a chance to see the Vikings on Saturday when they play a talented Whitney (Calif.) team, 2-0, at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow 
at 8. Billed the Idaho Classic, Lake City and Highland of Pocatello also play California schools. Lake City (2-1) takes on Rio Linda (1-1) at 5. Whitney features two prized players in quarterback Jake Rodrigues (6-3, 209) and tight end Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick (6-5, 236). Rodrigues has given an oral commitment to Oregon and Cope-Fitzpatrick is headed to USC. Whitney will have to defend a solid quarterback in CdA’s Chad Chalich (pictured last year passing the Viks to the state championship against Centennial), who is ahead of last year’s record-setting pace. He’s thrown for 901 yards, completing 63 of 82 passes (.768) and eight touchdowns/Greg Lee, SR. More here.
Question: Do you plan to attend a high school football game this season?
I wonder where I’d be right now if Velcro had been invented when I was 7. One rainy night the frustration of being the youngest of four finally caught up with me. My parents were out for the evening, leaving my teenage 
brother in charge. He refused to let me stay up past my bedtime to watch “Gunsmoke.” It was one injustice too many. I packed my round, red-and-black plaid suitcase with all the books and comics it could hold. Donned my raincoat and tennis shoes and went to the kitchen to pack a snack. I couldn’t make the square box of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch fit into my round suitcase so, leaving it on the counter, I slipped out the backdoor. At the end of our driveway I tripped on my untied shoelace. It would be a painful journey if I kept stumbling over my laces. I marched back inside where my despot of a brother reclined, watching television. “Tie my shoes,” I demanded/Cindy Hval, Front Porch. More here.
Question: Did your older siblings pick on you?
For Greg Price, it happened like a jolt from the bowels of the Earth: A sudden insight while gardening about the cycle of life and death, which helped him come to peace with his father's passing. For Jack and Christy Wich, it was more like a sprinkling of ingredients over the course of years, which eventually formed the recipe for their Black Cat Bakery. For Crissy Manhan, it happened after the birth of one of her children several years ago. … “Aha moments,” they all called them. On Wednesday, inside a shiny, 34-foot aluminum Airstream trailer-turned-video studio, local residents shared those flashes of insight that have made them who they are/Joe Nickell, Missoulian. More here.
Question: Tell us about an “aha” moment that you've had?
Montana State University president Waded Cruzado presents Maya Angelou with the MSU Presidential Medal for Global and Visionary Leadership Tuesday. (AP Photo/Montana State University: Kelly Gorham)
Question: Who is your favorite female poet?
When Grant Yates (pictured) retired after a lengthy career as an auto mechanic, he and his wife, Joyce, sold their home 
in California and moved to Deer Park.Never one to sit idle, Yates indulged his love of woodworking and began crafting birdhouses in his shop. He placed them in their spacious backyard among Joyce’s lush plants and flowers. But it wasn’t a very satisfying hobby. “I never saw any birds in them!” he said. “I decided the birds didn’t need any more houses.”Instead he unleashed his imagination. Over the years, using scraps of weathered wood, Yates has crafted an entire town in his backyard – a miniature wooden wonderland/Cindy Hval, SR. More here. (SR photo: Colin Mulvany)
Question: What do you plan to do when you retire?
At Idaho Scenic Images, photographer Linda Lantzy calls this Inland Northwest viewscape: “Chasing the Light.” You can read about it here. Anyone guess where this was taken?
Item: Drugmakers pay millions to Idaho physicians: A new report discloses what doctors received for meals, travel, research and other expenses/Audrey Dutton, Idaho Statesman
More Info: They dine out courtesy of drug companies. A Boise psychiatrist ate $607 worth of meals paid for by Pfizer last year. They speak and get paid by drug companies, too. A Sun Valley psychiatrist earned $102,900 in the first half of 2011 to talk about Cephalon drugs. Idaho medical providers have received $2.56 million from the companies in the past three years for speaking, eating during presentations, conducting research, travel and consulting, according to investigative news outlet ProPublica, which has gathered and catalogued the payments in a database.
Question: What do you make of this cozy relationship between drug companies and Idaho doctors?
Item: 7 Glacier High/Kalispell football players kicked off team for bullying/Jesse Davis, Daily Inter Lake
More Info: Two recent incidents involving Glacier High School students resulted in a total of seven suspensions, according to Kalispell Public Schools Superintendent Darlene Schottle. One of the incidents involved several members of the school’s ninth-grade football team. “It was determined that in a freshmen football bus on the way home from a game there were some students involved in some harrassment/bullying/intimidation-type of action,” Schottle said Wednesday.
Question: Do North Idaho coaches/administrators do a good job doling out punishment to players when they violate team rules?
Ruth Angelica Gomez stands in front of an “Achieve The Dream Foundation” sign in El Paso, Texas. Gomez, who collected $17,000 in donations after telling people she was dying of leukemia and had only had six months to live faces theft charges after police determined she lied about being sick. More here. (AP Photo/The El Paso Times, Ruben R Ramirez)
Question: Does this story make you less likely to contribute to a worthy cause?
Adam Graves, a candidate for the Coeur d'Alene City Council, admits he was wild as a youngster and has a 
laundry list of tickets related to speeding to prove it. But he said he's cleaned up his act since the mid-90s. Hucks Online received an email that detailed the list of Adam's violations from a Berry Picker, mostly minor. In response, he told Hucks: “i was a wild kid until i got in trouble at 21 and changed my ways pretty fast. … some of the older ones from back then someone was using my name, hence the dismissed, since then I've just got speeding tickets as i'm a fast-german car freak… but alas, i had to give those up and i'm down to 76 bmw 2002 and a 76 vw bus… neither is fast. but both are fun. i bet edinger got rides home from the police in the 50's when he was 21.” You can see the list of tickets here. You can read another quote from Adam below. (Courtesy photo: Here's what Adam drives around now)
Question: Does Adam's history of tickets change your view of his as a candidate for the Coeur d'Alene council? And/or: Were you wild as a kid?
At the Lewiston Tribune, Opinion Editor Marty Trillhaase criticizes the political grandstanding and deal cut to 
resolve the grizzly bear shooting case involving Porthill resident Jeremy Hill: Simple fear, however understandable, does not justify shooting an endangered grizzly. Adopt that standard and you've nullified a law meant to protect a species that, as the Spokesman-Review's Rich Landers noted last month, reproduces “at a glacial pace. … A female grizzly doesn't become sexually mature until she's 6 or 7. In ideal circumstances, that sow will give birth to a pair of cubs every three years. The sow might produce cubs into her early 20s, although she faces an 8 percent chance of dying each year.”
Question: Which current Idaho politician is best at railing at the federal government?
Barry Ramsay, who runs his small manufacturing business here between two mountains, remembers the day 
his Internet connection crashed for several hours. Work crews had to ride up in snowmobiles to discover the problem. “They said that bears had been rubbing against the towers,” Ramsay said. In this mountainous state, where some connections depend on line of sight, even snow and fog can disrupt the signals. And, according to a new study, they are among the problems that have earned Idaho an unfortunate distinction: It had the slowest Internet speeds in the country earlier this year for residential customers who were downloading things like games — a “dismal” average of 318 kilobytes per second/Katharine Q. Seelye, New York Times. More here. (AP file photo, for illustrative purposes)
Question: What do you do when your computer is unusually slow downloading files?
President Barack Obama's engagement in job creation is “welcome,” Sen. Mike Crapo said this week, and it's 
time for Congress and the White House to get past its “tired, back-and-forth political battles” and produce results. But in his weekly guest opinion to Idaho newspapers, the Republican senior senator staked out his side on what could be Capitol Hill's next “back-and-forth political battle.” He rejected what has emerged as the centerpiece of the $450 billion Obama jobs plan: financing job programs by increasing taxes on upper-income groups. “The misguided talk of some in Washington in favor of tax hikes at a time when the economy cannot stand it is incomprehensible,” Crapo wrote/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here. (AP file photo)
Question: Should taxes be raised on upper-income groups to finance job programs?
When Mark Earls saw a shaggy, white wolf crossing a road in North Idaho’s Hoodoo Valley, he pulled out his 
cellphone to snap a picture of it. “What boggled him was that the wolf didn’t run away,” said his wife, Chelsea. “It didn’t appear to be afraid of him.” The wolf escaped from Wolf People, which operates a retail store on U.S. Highway 95 near Cocolalla, Idaho, and keeps captive wolves for viewing and filming, according to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. The wolf apparently got out by digging underneath the fence, said Chip Corsi, Fish and Game’s regional manager. By some neighbors’ accounts, it has been seen in the area since June, acting like a stray dog. A captive wolf on the lam is a concern because it’s used to being around people/Becky Kramer, SR. More here.
Question: What do you make of the story Wolf People workers originally told that the wolf had died?
“I've been a logger since I was 11 years old,” said Jim Lake, of Priest River, Idaho, after checking out the Smithsonian Institute's exhibit, “The Way We Worked,” at the Beardmore Block in Priest River on Wednesday. Alison Boggs SR story here. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)
When you live here, it's easy to forget just how captivating our corner of the world can be to certain visitors. I'll 
tell you what I mean. Before I got there, the small daily newspaper in Arizona where I started work while still in college was part of the Hagadone media company for a short time. And it was during that period that the guy who would be my first boss, Art Coughanour, attended some sort of conference for Hagadone editors. Those meetings were held in Coeur d'Alene. I don't think Art was ever the same. To say that he fell for CdA would be a gross understatement. He talked about the town, the lake and the Northwesty surroundings the way some guys talk about women. The way some guys talk about shiny cars/Paul Turner, The Slice. More here. (SR file photo of floating boardwalk bridge)
Question: Are you smitten by Coeur d'Alene? Why? Why not?
This is the hole in the Benewah County Jail wall Jesse Brebner (also known as Jesse Wilkenson) escaped through early Tuesday morning. Brebner tied bed sheets together to lower himself to the ground from the third floor of the county courthouse. Brebner was later recaptured. Story here. (St. Maries Gazette Record photo: Mary Orr)
Question: Wouldn't you think that a guy industrious enough to dig his way through a wall to escape from jail would do better as a law-abiding worker than a criminal?
Item: Graffiti mars Sept. 11 mural near downtown/Tom Hasslinger, Coeur d'Alene Press
More Info: All Jim Hail can do is shake his head. Well, and report the crime to police and paint over the damage so the wall looked brand new. But all Hail could really do when he learned that the mural on the side of the Hagadone Directories building dedicated to the memory of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks had been spray painted with graffiti - for a third time, one week before the tragedy's 10th anniversary - was shake his head in disgust. “Broke my heart,” said Hail, president and co-owner of Hagadone Directories Inc., when he saw the damage on Sept. 2.
Question: Shouldn't their be a stiffer penalty for punk vandals who deface public & patriotic art?
HMOffsuite: The most vocal and active folks against bringing the races back to Cda were the environmentalists. They organize and get their people out whether it is spotted owls, whales or certain trees. 
They were very afraid that the races would cause too many people to be on Tubbs hill and it might damage the shrubs and buttercups. They were the primary reason the vote was against bringing the boats back. Then, a few years later, we had Ice Storm and about 5,000 trees fell down and destroyed all below. Too bad the environmentalists couldn’t defeat mother nature. And, being a tourist town (like it or not) and someone hands you 100,000 visitors on a silver platter, most Cities would do back flips for that. How much does the City and Chamber spend a year trying to get people to come to Cda and spend money? Back in the 60s, there were few hotels and motels to handle the crowds. We do now, at least in the region. (Ironman) Not bringing the races back was short sighted, imo. (2010 SR file photo: David Williams pilots the “Miss Wahoo” during an exhibition on Lake Coeur d'Alene)
Question: Did Coeur d'Alene make a mistake by not allowing hydroplane racing back on Lake Coeur d'Alene?
The Press contends that the KCRR is somehow “polluting” the purity of local elections by supporting candidates with whom we share a political philosophy. To imply that partisanship in local elections came 
about just because of our group is silly. People involved in partisan politics were the driving force in local elections decades before we were ever founded in July 2009. First of all, “non-partisan elections” is a complete misnomer. The state of Idaho does not list political party affiliation on the ballot for municipal and local taxing district elections but that does not mean that the candidates and their supporters are not active members of a political party. There are no non-partisan elections, just non-partisan ballot listings. Everyone “in the know” in our community is aware of the political affiliation of the candidates. It is the height of elitism to think this knowledge should not be shared with the average voter. To deny the voters the right to know the beliefs of candidates, their general philosophy, and with whom they politically associate, is just another way to pull the wool over voters' eyes/Jeff Ward, Kootenai County Reagan Republicans president. More here.
Question: As you know, I thoroughly disagree with Jeff re: the issue of partisans like his group injecting their ideology into a nonpartisan local election. I also disagree that everyone “in the know” is aware of the political affiliation of council members. Can someone tell me the political affiliation of Mayor Sandi Bloem and the City Council?
Signe Wilkenson/Philadelphia Inquirer
I was miffed that Mother Nature cheated us out of spring and early summer. But gotta tip my hat to her re: the fine weather of summer from 4th of July into this month. I enjoy the bike rides to and from work. Otherwise, I'm office bound, jealous of you Berry Pickers who can enjoy the autumn sunshine. Now for your Wild Card …
Chris “The Dutchess” Walton shows off her record breaking fingernails in New York Wednesday. The Dutchess holds the world's record for the longest fingernails on a pair of female hands, according to the new Guiness World Records 2012 book. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Question: Do you spend much time trying to make your fingernails attractive?
Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson told his “700 Club” viewers that divorcing a spouse with Alzheimer's 
disease is justifiable because the disease is “a kind of death.” During the portion of the show where the one-time Republican presidential candidate takes questions from viewers, Robertson was asked what advice a man should give to a friend who began seeing another woman after his wife started suffering from the incurable neurological disorder. “I know it sounds cruel, but if he's going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her,” Robertson said/Tom Breen, AP. More here. (AP file photo, of Pat Robertson)
Question: Can you picture the Apostles Peter, Paul, James, John, etc., opining that it's OK to broom your mate simply because s/he is suffering from Alzheimers?
Kaleigh Livingston, left, and Brad Hilty, graduate students in the Speech and Hearing Sciences program at Washington State University's Spokane Riverpoint Campus in Spokane, study for a class Tuesday. Chelsea Bannach/SR reports that despite the nation's continuing economic woes, the cost of higher education usually pays off. Story here. (SR photo: Colin Mulvany)
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on how both of Idaho's U.S. senators and North Idaho's congressman introduced legislation today to amend the Endangered Species Act to clarify that it's OK to shoot a grizzly bear in self-defense or in defense of another person, in response to the Jeremy Hill incident. However, the law already says that - in the very next section after the one the new bill would amend. A spokesman for Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo said the bill would “bolster” that provision, but a national species conservation group called it “simply political grandstanding”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Reaction?
At As The Lake Churns, Pecky Cox offers this shot of the glorious full moon that has blessed our nights in recent days.
Hucks Online numbers (for Monday): 7989/4847; and (for Tuesday): 8070/4967
Adam Graves, a candidate in the three-way race for incumbent Ron Edinger's Coeur d'Alene City Council seat, sends along this photo with the caption: “Smallest campaign bus ever!!” (Before Neptune or any of the other Edinger supporters cry, “foul,” because I'm posting this, please be assured that I'm interested in interesting things involving the various campaigns. Read: Email me something of interest.)
The St. Maries girls’ soccer team won’t play another game this season. A decision was made at Monday’s school board meeting to cancel the remainder of the season. Coach Paul Ebert said there was a lot of concern because the team was unable to field 11 players at game time/St. Maries Gazette-Record.
Question: Have you ever played on a team that had to forfeit a game for lack of players?
On her Facebook wall, Cindy writes: “So, I love my sparkly golden toes, but due to a language barrier I almost smacked the guy doing my pedicure. He said, “You have affair?” I beg your pardon, says I. “You have affair?” he repeats. Absolutely, not! I reply. Seeing my outrage, the gal working next to him said, “He wants to know if you go to Fair.” Oh well. Same answer, but I'm glad I didn't kick him in the nose.
Question: Have you ever had a misunderstanding as a result of a language barrier?
So, instead of fighting tooth and nail to protect Republicans, to pit highly conservative Republicans against moderates or to break up the mere handful of Democratic districts left in the state, the Republicans on the 
commission ought to work with Democrats to prevent the utter extinction of Idaho's political minority. This may sound like one of those namby-pamby “can't we all just get along” theories that some people believe have no place in politics. It's not. Even the nation's founding fathers recognized that an unopposed majority could result in tyranny. There's a problem with long-term, out-sized majorities. When they face too little countervailing political muscle, they get flabby and careless. In the worst cases, they may become intellectually and politically corrupt/Idaho Mountain Express Editorial Board. More here (AP file photo, of 2010 educators rally for Dem Stan Olson)
Question: Should the federal government reintroduce Democrats into Idaho as it did wolves during the Clinton administration to ensure good debate & battle one-party corruption?
This surveillance video taken Sept. 5 and released by the San Diego Police Dept. shows a suspect dressed like Gumby telling a convenience store clerk he is being robbed, fumbling inside the costume as if to pull a gun, dropping 27 cents and leaving. Police say the attempted robbery took place Sept.5 at a 7-Eleven in Rancho Penasquitos, Calif. A 19-year-old and an accomplice turned themselves in for the robbery on Tuesday. Story here. (AP Photo/San Diego Police Department)
Question: Did you ever own a Gumby toy or follow the pre-claymation show?
Susan Weathers, the long-time Coeur d'Alene City Clerk, sent this historical information re: the 1985 City Council vote that sent the hydroplane issue to the city ballot. Here's how the council voted to send the measure to the ballot: “Motion by Brown, seconded by Michaud that the issue go to ballot which would read, 'Should the City of Coeur d'Alene participate in an unlimited hydroplane race that would require fencing of Tubbs Hill and portions of the City Park during the summer of 1986?' Roll Call: Reid, Naye; Macdonald, Naye; Michaud, Aye: McCrea, Aye; Brown, Aye; Edinger, Naye. Mayor,Aye.” And here's how the vote turned out once it was put on the ballot:
The State Board of Education on Friday brought Idaho one step closer to joining Alabama, Florida and 
Michigan in requiring students to take some of their classes online. The approved arrangement was a good reflection of compromise that should serve students well. Schools Superintendent Tom Luna had originally wanted students to take as many as eight online course credits as part of his controversial Students Come First reform plan, but the deal approved by the Ed Board pared that down to two credits/Idaho Press-Tribune Editorial Board. More here. (AP file photo, of Tom Luna)
Other Idaho Opinion:
Question: Are you more comfortable with online education requirements now that the Idaho Education Board has pared Superintendent Luna's eight classes down to two?
Here’s what President Obama's jobs bill would do for Idaho, according to a White House estimate released Tuesday (Idaho Statesman story here):
Question: Are you more favorable to the jobs bill now?
Staff Sgt. Nicholas Edwards greets his niece, Kelsey Heiner, 2, after his arrival at the A-V Center at the Pocatello Regional Airport in Pocatello on Tuesday, with fellow members of the 116th Idaho National Guard following a tour of duty in Iraq this past year. (AP Photo/Idaho State Journal: Bill Schaefer)
Question: Am I the only one who relishes photos of soldiers returning from Iraq & Aghanistan as they see their wives and families?
On my Facebook wall, Coeur d'Alene School Trustee Tom Hamilton takes exception to my call for Reagan
Republicans and other diehard partisans to butt out of local nonpartisan elections: “Sure, Dave…'cuz you've NEVER interjected your politics into local races. Gimme a break. All public offices are political and it's silly to pretend they are anything else. While you have a forum and that is how you chose to combat what the RR's are trying accomplish, you might be more effective by organizing a similar group that shares your views. Just a thought…”
DFO: Actually, I've started the most moderate group in North Idaho, if you consider the thousands who hang out here. I could be overtly partisan — and try to get readers to follow my lead lock step. But I believe in give & take, as well as discussion. Which means I could never be a blind partisan. Ever again. Partisan politics offered by political parties turn my stomach. My professional creed has nothing to do with politics: Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
Question: Do you consider the political tone of Huckleberries front page (not the comments section) to be partisan or nonpartisan?
Fans in the Green Monster seats reach for the ball on a home run by Boston Red Sox's Jacoby Ellsbury during the fourth inning of the Red Sox's baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park in Boston on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Question: I've watched ballgames at Anaheim Stadium (Angels), Candlestick Park (Giants), Oakland Coliseum (A's), and Coors Field (Rockies). How about you? How many baseball stadiums have you been to?
KHQ has been following a story about a Coeur d'Alene man who flew his flag upside-down on 9/11 and subsequent days. At first, the Spokane news station wondered if the man was in distress. But the man's wife told KHQ that he was flying the flag upside-down to get her “goat.” When asked why he had taken the action, she said: “Who knows?”
Question: Is this man disrespecting the flag?
This just in from the New York Times: Idaho has the slowest Internet connectivity in the nation, and that’s 
partially because of bears rubbing themselves on towers. It’s also because of snow, fog, mountains and (in summary) the fact that most of Idaho is rural countryside. “I don’t think enough people understand just how bad the situation is,” one expert told the Times. “It really is time for this country to invest in getting its citizens online where we don’t have Internet access, especially in rural areas, so we stop sending jobs to India that we could be sending to Idaho.” Blame the bears. Maybe they’re just better behaved in India/Amy Rolph, Seattle's Big Blog. More here. (AP file photo)
Question: Should the Idaho delegation expand its changes to the Endangered Species Act to include a provision that allows the state to shoot bears who are slowing down our Internet access ;-)
As much as I like Ron Edinger … I am amused at his fervent call for a McEuen Field advisory vote. In fall 1985, I recall, Edinger, Dixie Reid, and one other council member (Bill Jones?) adamantly opposed a call for 
an advisory vote for the proposal by Duane Hagadone & the Coeur d'Alene chamber to bring hydroplane racing back to Lake Coeur d'Alene. Hagadone threatened to pull the proposal if the council voted to send it to an advisory vote. If memory serves me correctly, Ron was wearing a pin in support of hydroplane racing the night the council voted on the advisory vote. The council split 4-3, with then Mayor Jim Fromm casting the tie-breaking vote for an advisory vote. Also on Fromm's side was the rest of the “Gang of Four”: Jim Michaud, Bob Brown, and Steve McCrea. Hagadone pulled the project. The city followed through with the advisory vote in which a supermajority opposed hydroplane racing. Hydroplane boosters made another unsuccessful run to get the thunderboats back, in the '90s. And the hydroplane exhibitions of today is an attempt to back door a possible return of hydro racing. Still, 'tis interesting that support or opposition to advisory votes depend on which side of the issue you're on — DFO.
Question: Do you generally support advisory votes on controversial issues?
re: Uidaho tops WAC in U.S. News & World Report rankings
In a WAC forum re: the disparity of U.S. News & World Report rankings of UIdaho (No. 160 nationally) and Boise State (No. 67 regionally), a poster asked: “Do you mean to say the Boise State Football Team fields a 
college?” A Berry Picker emails additional insight to Huckleberries: “The difference in academic programs between Idaho and Boise St. is somewhat in inverse proportion to the difference in their football teams. I guess people need to decide which is most important but I think it's important to remember that leadership in football does not necessarily go hand-in-hand with academic prowess. The other 'national university' in Idaho (in terms of the USNWR rankings) is Idaho State which was unranked. While it would be nice to see Idaho higher than 160 I think the taxpayers and their children are getting a pretty good return on a declining investment.”
Question: Which is more important — a nationally ranked football team or superior academics?
On her Facebook wall, Christa Hazel writes: “This Missoni thing @Target is nuts. Employee in CdA store says a lady yesterday bought $4000 worth of stuff to resell on eBay. PS- she didn't buy it all. There's still zigzag crap on the shelves here.” Christa snapped the photo above at the Target store Tuesday. In an email to Hucks Online, she said: “Within hours of it's launch yesterday target's site crashed and the shelves were sold out. Many wide open spaces of Missoni Shelves here. One $40 dress sold for $306 on eBay this morning. And it all looks like zigzag potholders.” I'd never heard of Missoni until Christa made the Facebook post. You can read about it here.
Question: Are you caught up in the Missoni excitement?
Item: Hollingsworth vows less government, more listening/Tom Hasslinger, Coeur d'Alene Press
More Info: Three-time Republican representative candidate and building contractor Jim Hollingsworth is running for Coeur d'Alene City Council. The 71-year-old, in his first attempt for a city seat, is campaigning on scaling down the role of city government, including reducing employee wages and staff positions, loosening parking and building code restrictions and supporting a public advisory vote on the McEuen Field project.
Question: What exactly is meant by less government, more listening?
Ambiguities in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) have prompted Idaho's Congressional Delegation to introduce legislation clarifying the rights of individuals to protect themselves and their loved ones from grizzly 
bear attacks. Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch and Congressman Raúl Labrador say the legislation would amend the ESA to permit actions carried out against grizzly bears in self-defense situations. The Delegation members note that these proposed changes to the law would be a drastic improvement over the current ESA regulations protecting the grizzly bear, which make it possible, but extremely difficult to legally take a grizzly bear in an act of self-defense or defense of another human. The new legislation states: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law … the provisions of this Act shall not apply with respect to the taking of any grizzly bear by an individual who demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that the individual carried out the taking as a result of 1) self-defense; 2) defense of another individual; or 3) a reasonable belief of imminent danger posed by the grizzly bear to any individual”/U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo news release. More here. (AP file photo, for illustrative purposes) H/T: Darrell Kerby
Question: Do you support these changes to Endangered Species Act?
Partisanship is poisonous enough already, ripping America to pieces. Why would anybody want to pollute the political air even more? Yet a political group is organizing fundraisers and mustering the Grand Old Party 
faithful for local elections, even though those elections are supposed to be non-partisan. The stated goal of the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans is to put one of their proponents in every office - no exceptions. Now, before anyone's tempted to lecture us on trickle-down economics or the value of charisma in high places, understand that we're not painting the RRs as any kind of enemy. Philosophically, there's a lot we agree with them on: namely, smaller government, lower taxes, more disciplined spending and distance from burgeoning unions in the public workplace. But it's not an accident that local city elections are non-partisan. That's the way citizens want them, and that's the way they should stay until a majority of citizens demands to see an R, a D, an I, an L or an XYZ after candidates' names on the ballot/Mike Patrick, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here. (Photo: Jeff Ward, president of Reagan Republicans)
Question: How do communities resist the siren call of groups like the Reagan Republicans who are trying to push their brand of no-holds-barred partisanship in nonpartisan local elections?
Michelle Parkin picks up her son Nicholas Pelz, 7, from the bus stop at the intersection of Wolf Lodge Creek Road and Alder Creek Road in Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday. Budget cuts in the Coeur d’Alene School District have forced the bus service to consolidate some routes. Alison Boggs' SR story here. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)
Clarke Cooper, who heads the Log Cabin Republican, hopes last weekend's decision by the Oregon GOP to strip out anti-gay rights language from its party platform will help spur the same action in other states and at next year's Republican national convention. “Hopefully the updated ORP [Oregon Republican Party] platform will serve as positive example to other state committees as well as delegates to the RNC convention in 2012” wrote Cooper in a note to Oregon Republican Chairman Allen Alley. The Log Cabin Republicans is a 22,000-member group based in Washington, D.C. that works within the GOP to encourage equal rights for gays and lesbians. Cooper said in an interview that the Oregon GOP may be the first state Republican party to remove language critical of gays or gay rights from its platform/Jeff Mapes, Oregonian. More here.
Question: Would you like to see the Idaho/Washington GOP follow suit?
Bob Turner, center, joined by his wife Peggy, right, and family smiles as he delivers his victory speech during an election night party Wednesday in New York. Turner says his win in a heavily Democratic New York City district is a “loud and clear” message to Washington. Turner defeated Democratic Assemblyman David Weprin on Tuesday to succeed Anthony Weiner who resigned amid a sexting scandal. It's the first time a Republican has been elected in the district. Story here. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Question: A Republican also won a special election in Nevada. Does this spell trouble for the Democrats?
Eman: Hmmmm, boy this is a tuff one, she actually had sex with this nut bag and continued to even after noticing he was a nut bag. Indeed she finally ended it. Question is why did she decide to doink her Prof in the 
first place. I believe that the UI should screen their employees a bit better but once two concenting adults go behind closed doors what then? We all say, what happens in other people bedrooms is their own business. Now I’m not saying UI shouldn’t have been more ascertive perhaps, but to be liable for a personal relationship well, that’s another story all together. I wonder how many Prof’s said don’t piss me off in the history of higher education? Point being UI and others should have a policy of no sex with students or terminated.
Question: Do you know someone in a bad relationship with a nutjob?
JImmyMAC: I will say without a doubt that I find watching Ron Paul refreshing in debates. While other candidates are busy reading scripted, rehearsed responses that they don’t even author, Ron Paul takes on 
debate in genuine conversation. I may not agree with everything Ron says, but at least he speaks from real experience and from the heart. Newt is definitely the runner up when it comes to this but he pales in comparison to Ron Paul. That may not score the headlines that Perry and Romney are getting, but it’s something I very much appreciate about Paul. That and the fact that he’s a doctor. I should have gone to med school.
Question: Who do you think has shined in the Republican debates? Who has stunk it up?
Nick Anderson/Houston Chronicle
Dogwalk Musings asks in an email, if the Fall Blogfest at the Fort Ground Tavern (5:30 p.m.) Wednesday, Sept. 21, is a serious undertaking. Quoth: “Is it something a straight blogger should attend? I do nothing with social media other than play a game and share my blog.” The Fall Blogfest with Addy & Geoff, indeed, is a serious undertaking. It's the townhall portion of a national project involving the SR. Addy & Geoff are helping gauge media credibility when it comes to using social media. If that's not enough to entice you, owner Steve Widmyer's taco bar & soft drinks (again, free) should. Along with the usual fellowship at Hucks Online confabs. Everyone's welcome. Now to repost your Wild Card …
A chipmunk with its mouth full of peanuts looks for another handout along the Route of the Hiawatha. Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area, operators of Route of the Hiawatha, reported 12,844 visits last month. August’s rider total was a 4.4 percent increase over 12,301 riders recorded for the same month last summer — the biggest month ever for the trail ride. The momentum continued into September with a record Labor Day weekend crowd of just over 3,000 riders. Story here. (SR file photo: Christopher Anderson)
Question: What did you enjoy most re: your Route of the Hiawatha ride?
I went to see the movie called THE HELP, with my gal pal. It was a pretty good movie. I tend to judge movies in 
3 catagories … First one is to see it on the big screen. Like Aviatar, Dancing with Wolves, and Titanic. Where you really need to see it on a big screen. I have seen all 3 in the theater and on television. It just isn’t the same.
The next one is watch it on video, like Netflix. And finally there is the television. I rarely go to the theater, so most of the movies I see are on Netflix. THE HELP would have been a Netflix one. It isn’t that it wasn’t that good, as it was..but it wasn’t $10.00 worthy. The going price for movies these days. I did get the senior discount so it cost me $8/From A Simple Mind. More here. (AP Photo/DreamWorks-Disney, Dale Robinette: Emma Stone, left, and Viola Davis in a scene from “The Help”)
Question: How do you decide whether a movie is worth the $8-10 to see in a theater?
Boise State President Bob Kustra talks with an Associated Press reporter about the NCAA violations imposed on them today at his office in Boise. The NCAA placed Boise State on probation for three years and imposed other sanctions Tuesday for major violations by the football program and other sports. The sanctions included a public reprimand, a one-year postseason ban for women's tennis and recruiting restrictions and scholarship reductions. Some of the penalties had previously been self-imposed by the university. Story here. (AP Photo/Matt Cilley)
A Coeur d'Alene police incident report revealed that an employee of Wild Flower Boutique called law 
enforcement Saturday morning after finding the store had been burglarized. He found one of the store's mannequins lying in the hallway stripped of its clothing. During further investation, the employee discovered a pornography magazine lying on the bathroom floor next to the ladies' commode in the handicap stall. Along with a large bottle of hand soap, he also found wads of paper towels. Evidence was not collected at the scene, but the complainant did take pictures/Nicole Hensley, KXLY. More here.
Reaction?
A group of people tilt a burning BMW up to free Brandon Wright, on his back on the ground, who was pinned underneath after he collided with the car while riding his motorcycle on U.S. 89 in Logan, Utah. Authorities said Wright was riding his motorcycle near the Utah State University campus in Logan when the 21-year-old collided with the BMW that was pulling out of a parking lot. Tire and skid marks on the highway indicate that Wright laid the bike down and slid along the road before colliding with the car, Assistant Police Chief Jeff Curtis said. (AP Photo/Chris Garff)
Amber Copeland grew up here and graduated from Bonners Ferry High School in 1999. Growing up here, she 
says, her world consisted of people she knew and would come to know. She grew up with two parents in her home, who had a handful with she and her brothers and sisters, Casey, Sean, Jody, Sarah and Billie Jo. Her house, overseen by her parents, Pam and Larry Copeland, wasn’t her only place of haven; she could always visit her grandparent’s homes, either Tom Copeland’s or Ron and Evelyn Smith’s. “Oh, don't call him grandpa … he hates that,” Amber said, referring to former sheriff and long-time county commissioner Ron Smith. “He prefers grandaddy, guess it's his southern roots!”/Mike Weland, News Bonners Ferry. More here. (News Bonners Ferry photo/Mike Weland: Amber Copeland & her 4 daughters Abigail, Gracie, Lillian and Baylee.
Question: Seems to me that newcomer Copeland has political pedigree. What do you think?
Considering the numbers of complaints people have had about health insurance, one might expect this to be 
a very busy area. But in Idaho, not so much. Eileen Mundorff, who works on the program, said that in the first calendar year of the program (2010), the department received 13 requests for external review; of those, two company denials were overturned by independent review organizations. So far in 2011 the department has received 22 external review requests, and as of September 8, an estimated $284,821 was recovered for policyholders. Idaho has been approved by the federal government as meeting requirements for external reviews/Randy Stapilus, Ridenbaugh Press. More here.
Idaho Blog Rdp:
Question: Why do you suppose so few health insurance complaints are filed by Idahoans?
More than two months before her death, Kathryn “Katy” Benoit told an official at the University of Idaho that she was frightened by her professor, who carried weapons “everywhere, including to campus,” and that she also 
worried about the safety of fellow students. Benoit, 22, was killed on Aug. 22 by Ernesto Bustamante, with whom she had an intimate relationship. The assistant professor then killed himself in a Moscow hotel room. Previously unreported details of Benoit’s June 12 complaint to the university were revealed in the graduate student’s letter to Carmen Suarez, of the Office of Human Rights, Access and Inclusion. A friend of Benoit’s who proofread the letter provided a copy of the document; another friend verified that it is the letter submitted to the university/Kevin Graman, SR. More here. (AP file photo)
Question: As new details come out re: murder of UI grad student Katy Benoit, has your thoughts about the University of Idaho's reaction changed?
The Coeur d'Alene Police Department has provided a photo of Drew Bledsoe's recovered bike.
An 18YO Coeur d'Alene man has been charged with grand theft for allegedly stealing ex-NFL quarterback Drew Bledsoe's bike over the Labor Day weekend. Brandon C. Edgemon (pictured) was in jail on another charge at the 
time Coeur d'Alene police found the bike and filed charges against him last Thursday. According to police reports, a 15YO boy told police that Edgemon asked the boy's sister at about 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 5, if she would “watch the bike for me because the police are looking for it.” The boy's sister told him what happened and that the bike was in bushes across the street. Edgemon was upset that the boy locked the bike in his garage and called police. Coeur d'Alene police contacted Bledsoe and made arrangements to return his bike to him. The bike wasn't damaged. Bledsoe and his family had been dining friends during a visit to Coeur d'Alene when the bike was stolen. Complete police report.
This is what your computer picks up sometimes when you search the wire services for “Idaho.” From the Associated Press comes this rewrite of a Deutsche Presse-Agentur article from Paris: “Two women were legally married over the weekend in France, despite gay marriage being banned in the country, an organization that campaigns for gay rights announced Tuesday. “The French chapter of IDAHO, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, announced that its vice president, Sophie Lichten, and her partner, Sarah, said 'I do' in a civil ceremony in the town of Montreuil, near Paris, on Saturday”/Kevin Richert's blog, Idaho Statesman.
Question: Have you ever heard of the other 'IDAHO'?
Benewah County Jail confirmed early Tuesday an inmate escaped from the jail overnight. Authorities say 
Jesse John Wilkenson, 20, a convicted burglar, is the inmate that escaped. He is the same inmate who escaped the same jail back in July. Wilkenson also goes by the last name Brebner. Authorities say he used a metal mop bucket handle to scrape away brick in his cell. He used bed sheets to shimmy out a window and down three stories to the groundKREM. More here.
Question: Am I the only one who thinks the Benewah County Jail and oversight is less than adequate?
St. Francis may have been from Assisi, but according to Mary Jo Paul, he wasn't a sissy. In a letter to the editor 
published Aug. 13 in the Chronicle, she warned the thieves who stole her 2-foot, roughly 50-pound terra cotta statue of St. Francis to watch their karma. Maybe whoever stole St. Francis read the letter and was a little worried, or maybe returning him was the plan all along. Either way, Saturday morning, St. Francis reappeared in exactly the same spot from where he was taken from their Sourdough Road home. But he's not unscathed. A new paint job gives him glittering green robes, gold sandals and a purple rope belt/Rachel Hergett, Bozeman Chronicle. More here. (Bozeman Chronicle photo/Erik Petersen: Harold and Mary Jo Paul with made over St. Francis statue)
Question: Do you consider this funny or sacrilegious?
Capt. Frank Beauvais of the Nampa Fire Dept., gives his son Charlie, 4, a kiss on the cheek in front of a salvaged piece of steel that was found in the ruins of the World Trade Center and unveiled at a First Responders Ceremony on Sunday at the Nampa Fire Station in Nampa. (Idaho Press-Tribune: Adam Eschbach)
The NCAA found that Boise State lacked institutional control within its athletic department and added additional sanctions, including more football scholarship and practice reductions, to the school’s 
self-imposed penalties. In a 73-page report release Tuesday, the NCAA Committee on Infractions outlined its findings in Boise State’s first major infractions case. The committee met with Boise State and several officials for 13 hours on June 10 and concluded “that the scope and nature of the violations in five sports over a lengthy period of time, five years, in combination with a continuous pattern of violations in the men’s and women’s tennis programs demonstrate a lack of institutional control.” The Broncos’ highly ranked football team will face scholarship reductions from 85 to 82 in 2011, 2012 and 2013/Brian Murphy, Statesman. More here. (AP file photo, of BSU coach Chris Petersen)
Question: How will the NCAA penalties affect Boise State's reputation?
On his Facebook wall, Realtor Tom Torgerson writes of a near pratfall Monday night. Tom: “You may find it funny that I almost fell on my arse after sliding barefoot in the dark through a pile of dog barf on our hardwood floor. Question: Odor Eaters prescribed here?”
DFO: This brings to mind Thanksgiving 2010 when my daughter-in-law noticed a pile of dog barf in the corner of the dining, just as we sat down to the day's feast. Since I'd just come in from shoveling snow off the garage roof and hadn't showered yet, I was immediately selected as the guinea pig to clean it up. Adding insult to injury, one of my smart aleck kids snapped a photo of me handling the dastardly deed. The dog is still alive
Question: Do you have any good stories involving a close encounter with dog barf or poop?
Sheep painted in the colors of four nations playing in the Rugby World Cup, from left, England, Romania, Argentina, Italy and New Zealand on a farm in Dunedin, New Zealand earlier today. New Zealand is host to 20 nations competing for the Webb Ellis Cup with the final to be played in Auckland on Oct. 23. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Question: Would you rather see these sheep or another photo from a different angle of the Dunedin Black Nudes exhibition match?
A brilliant baseball season at Washington State University led John Olerud to a stellar Major League career. Ex-Cougar Olerud is one of five individuals to be inducted into the Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 25 during festivities that begin at 10:30 a.m. in the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. Joining him are two coaching legends and two record-setting women athletes. North Idaho College wrestling coach John Owen and Lewis-Clark State baseball mentor Ed Cheff will be joined in the Hall of Fame by basketball star Tammy Tibbles from Gonzaga University and the late Corissa Yasen, an All-American in track at Purdue/Mike Vlahovich, SR. More here. (AP file photo, of the late Corissa Yasen, of Coeur d'Alene, participating in collegiate heptathlon for Purdue, in 1996)
Question: I can't think of a stronger group of inductees for the Inland Northwest Hall of Fame. Can you?
It's official! The Idaho Fish and Game Department has confirmed a state record walleye was caught Saturday in Oakley Reservoir by Damon Rush of Pocatello. The fish weighted 17 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 34.5 inches long and 21.875 inches in girth. More from Rich Landers/Outdoors here.
Question: How big was the biggest fish that you ever caught?
The House Natural Resources Committee today held a hearing to review H.R. 846, the Idaho Land Sovereignty Act. This bill would amend the existing Antiquities Act of 1906 to exclude Idaho from additional 
national monument or wild lands designations without congressional approval. If enacted, Idaho would join Wyoming in being exempted from Presidential actions in the creation or expansion of restricted public lands without congressional oversight. “Just as designation of wilderness areas is a Congressional prerogative, I believe the designation of national monuments should also be subject to Congressional oversight. My legislation would prohibit any presidential administration from imposing new monument designations in the state of Idaho,” said Labrador. Labrador testimony to Parks, Forest, & Public Lands Subcommittee here.
Question: Do you support Congressman Labrador's attempt to amend the Antiquities Act of 1906?
In this Saturday, Aug. 6 file picture, students attend graduation ceremonies at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The number of borrowers defaulting on federal student loans has jumped sharply, the latest indication that rising college tuition costs, low graduation rates and poor job prospects are getting more and more students over their heads in debt. The national two-year cohort default rate rose to 8.8 percent in 2009, from 7 percent in fiscal 2008, according to figures released Monday by the Department of Education. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Question: Did you take out a student loan to help you get through school?
In latest U.S. News & World Report ranking “national universities,” the University of Idaho shares No. 160 with 
three other colleges & universities (Illinois State, Texas Tech, and Rhode Island). Idaho is the top ranked school in the Western Athletic Conference. It is followed by Hawaii (164), Utah State (170), Nevada (181), Louisiana Tech (194). New Mexico State is not rated. University of Washington is the top-ranked college in the region at No. 42. Others include: Oregon (101) Oregon State (138), Montana State (190), & Montana (194). Gonzaga, meanwhile, is No. 3, Whitworth No. 9, Eastern Washington No. 63, and Boise State No. 67 on the “regional university” list.
Of UIdaho, U.S. News & World Report writes: “Students can explore the restaurants and festivals in the city, or get involved with more than 200 clubs and Division I sports on campus. Idaho’s silver-and-gold sports teams are called the Vandals, thanks to an old newspaper account of the 1917 basketball team vandalizing their opponents on the court.”
Duroc: The GOP left me behind when they became the party of ideological, quasi-religious zealots. They had me up through GWB in 2000. I’ll admit I voted for Bush in 2000, because I thought Al Gore would be a terrible 
president (and I still do) and I was choosing the lesser of two evils. Whoops. I no longer recognize the Republican party. This isn’t the party of my youth, my parents, or my grandparents - all who were proud to be Republicans. With the exception of Huntsman and Romney, this is a group of fanatics. It’s a Freak Show on Opposite Day in Bizarro World. Do you really want buffoons like Perry, Bachmann, Cain, or Paul to be president of the United States? You really think that’d be better than Obama? At least he’s an adult operating in Reality - most of these “candidates” are as bonkers as Rex Rammell. (AP photo: Texas Gov. Rick Perry at last night's Republican debate)
Question: Has either major political party remained true to its traditional principles?
The jubilant shouts of members of the GOP audience encouraging the death of a hypothetical uninsured man 
bring to mind the 2009 House floor speech delivered by former Florida Rep. Alan Grayson, in which he famously charged: “The Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick.” Members of the crowd at the Tampa debate agree with Grayson. CNN's Wolf Blitzer, the event's moderator, posed the hypothetical question to Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas): What do you tell a guy who is sick, goes into a coma and doesn't have health insurance? Who pays for his coverage? “Are you saying society should just let him die?” Wolf Blitzer asked. “Yeah!” several members of the crowd yelled out/Huff Post. More here. (AP photo)
Reaction?
There’s simply not a travel destination in the world where the most memorable feature is plenty of free 
parking. A vast expanse of pavement is usually not where you want to be, rather it’s an unfortunate and forgettable layover separating you from your real destination. Indeed, increasingly, the lack of parking or very expensive parking are considered a reliable indicator that you’re in a great urban place. There’s a “walkability index” calculation available for neighborhoods across the country. Parkability is not an actual thing. So again this year, with the generous good humor of the City of Coeur d’Alene, KEA will be participating in the annual global Park(ing) Day event calling for a reclamation of parking places for the benefit of people and parks. We will reclaim a few downtown spaces on Friday to make our point/KEA Blog. More here. (SR file photo: Third Street parking lot)
Question: How important to you is available parking in choosing a place to shop, drink, or dine?
Border collies, Ida and Rufus, watch for their owner Aaron Keyser of Idaho County while parked near Centennial Trail in Coeur d'Alene on Monday. Aaron makes furniture from naturally shedded antlers. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)
The voter initiative law allows Idahoans to bypass a stubborn or unresponsive Legislature. When it comes to local-option sales taxes, those adjectives apply perfectly. Lawmakers have spent years finding new reasons and new justifications for saying no — because, evidently, they don’t trust local elected officials and voters to make informed decisions. So it should be no surprise that some business leaders are considering an initiative to put the local-option question on the 2012 ballot. The only surprise, really, is that it took this long to reach this point. After all, three years have passed since the Legislature’s last heavy-handed attempt at micromanagement/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman Editorial Board. More here.
Question: Do you support the concept of local-option tax?
Michael Landers, a member of the Colorado National Guard Honor Guard gives his wife Jeanette Gibbs, a kiss through the fencing in a secured area, during the Colorado Remembers 911 event in Civic Center Park in Denver Sunday. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Helen H. Richardson)
DFO: No cutline contest today. Just a nice photo.
When Idaho’s “citizen” reapportionment panel deadlocked recently everyone in the state looked to the Big Man on the second floor of the state capitol building for guidance. And for good reason. Ben Ysursa has forgotten 
more about Idaho’s election process than most of us could ever hope to know. So here’s a novel idea that will never happen, but should – let Ben draw the lines. … Of course, my solution – let Ben do it – will pass muster with no one, including most likely Ben. What sane person would want this job? But consider this: Ysursa has been in the Secretary of State’s office since just after statehood, or at least it seems so. Ben first toiled as long-time Secretary of State Pete Cenarrusa’s chief deputy and he has held the top job himself since 2002. Ben has twice been overwhelmingly re-elected with bi-partisan support. You would be hard pressed to find a loyal Republican, as Ysursa proudly is, who is seen by partisans of every stripe as both a professional and completely fair minded/Marc Johnson, The Johnson Report. More here.
Question: Do you think a new committee of 3 partisan Republicans and 3 partisan Democrats will do a better job than the first group of redistricters did?
Hayden Mayor Ron McIntire is running for a fourth term, and City Council member Dick Panabaker said he is 
pulling out of the race. “It would be a different story if things weren't going so well,” Panabaker said. “He's an awfully popular candidate. And as long as things are in good shape, there's no point in me getting in the middle of things and muddying the water.” Panabaker, a past mayor of the city, still has a couple years remaining on his council term. That leaves Council member Nancy Lowery as McIntire's lone challenger. Two people have filed to run for her council seat/David Coles, Press. More here.
Question: Can anyone guess what went on behind the scenes here re: Panabaker withdrawing from the mayor's race?
Dan Popkey/Idaho Statesman columnizes this morning that the respected Southern Poverty Law Center missed the target when it sounded the alarm about Boise State and University of Idaho. Seems Boise State 
and UI have two of the 10 “active” chapters of the racist Youth for Western Civilization. But Popkey discovered “active” might be a stretch re: what he found on the two Idaho campuses. Popkey: “The BSU chapter was founded in March 2010 and vanished by fall term. … At the U of I, YWC is not recognized as a student group. Last school year, a single U of I student, Alexander Rowson, worked with an official chapter at Washington State University, erecting a chain-link fence to protest illegal immigration and selling “Straight Pride” T-shirts to counter Gay and Lesbian Pride month. At the U of I, four people protested the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s visit. More here.
Question: What do you make of the SPLC claim that Idahoans should be alarmed at Youth for Western Civilization activity at UI and Boise State?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
The 9/11 observance is past, and we have the official lineup for mayoral and city council races throughout Kootenai County. 'Tis time to begin reviewing the last of candidates to identify which ones are ideological plants from the Hard Right and which ones aren't. I am, for example, trying to decipher that five-way race for that open Coeur d'Alene City Council seat that features: Derek Aujay, Dan Gookin, Patrick “Mitch” Mitchell, George Sayler, and Annastasia Somontes. We all know Gookin and Sayler. But who's Mitch Mitchell, Derek Aujay, & Annastasia Somontes? You can answer that question or use this Wild Card to post other thoughts …
Republican presidential candidates, from left, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, businessman Herman Cain, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, applaud before a Republican presidential debate Monday in Tampa, Fla. Story here. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
Question: Do you plan to watch tonight's debate?
Trish Gannon/River Journal: To kill the huge spider in my bathtub I had to hit it three times with my shoe. Each time I yelled, “Sorry!” When it finally quit spasming and lay dead on my shoe, I said, “I'm really sorry but you had to die.” Does anyone else explain themselves to spiders?
Question: Do you feel contrite when you kill a spider?
Jeanie Spokane: When I got married (in another lifetime on another planet), my mother (a Special Ed teacher) brought the classroom frogs home for Christmas break - I got married on December 19, the evening of my last 
final at Eastern - and just before the guests arrived to our humble farm house - the frogs ESCAPED. We never saw them again. But the whole evening my mother would look around, eyes would go wide, hand clasped over her mouth, as she thought she spotted one or two hopping about in the dining room. In the end, she got sloshed, just knowing that my high-falutin’ mother-in-law would spot the little critters. (She also brought home the chalk-board pet rat, Gaylord - but he was safely hidden)
Question: Do you get along with your mother-in-law?
A cheerleader from Nampa High School flies into the air as the cheer squad practices their stunts before a game Friday in Nampa. (AP Photo/Idaho Press-Tribune, Charlie Litchfield
Spanish Conquistadoras' Thania Iliana Balcorta, center, runs with the ball during a friendly rugby match against Dunedin's Nude Blacks at Kettle Park in Dunedin, New Zealand, Saturday, prior to the Rugby World Cup match between England and Argentina. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Top Cutlines:
Brian Ray Coney (upper left), 32, of Coeur d'Alene, goes to the head of the class for Major Ben Wolfinger's weekly list of individuals wanted on felony warrants with a laundry list of charges he's facing: grand theft, misdemeanor probation violation for DUI (twice), failure to appear for minor in possession (twice) resisting arrest (twice), and domestic battery. He's facing $55,000 bail when caught. John Ray Preston (upper middle), 45, of Coeur d'Alene, is wanted on a charge of delivery of controlled substance ($50,000 
bail). Others wanted on felony warrants are: Barclay Dylan Bennett (upper right), 34, of Coeur d'Alene, possession of meth, driving with suspended license, providing false information to an officer, and obstructing an officer ($35,000 bail); Jared Wayne Rounsville (lower left), 26, of Coeur d'Alene, probation violation for possession of controlled substance ($35,000 bail); and Audrey Jean Wilkins (lower right), 31, of Coeur d'Alene, probation violation for possession of controlled substance (no bail set). Misdemeanor warrant list here.
Failed Idaho gubernatorial candidate Rex F. Rammell faces a felony battery charge in Idaho County for reportedly trying to place a couple under citizens’ arrest for trespassing. According to a police report filed at the 
Idaho County Courthouse, Rammell is accused of grabbing William Shira and trying to choke him during an incident Thursday in which Rammell allegedly accused Shira of trespassing on his property. Rammell also resisted arrest and failed to comply with orders by Idaho County Sheriff’s Sgt. Carlos Martinez, according to the police report. Rammell was taken to the Idaho County Jail in Grangeville and $300 bond was posted by Chuck Rogers, who is a candidate for this year’s Grangeville City Council election. Rammell is scheduled for an initial appearance in Magistrate Court here Sept. 27/Lewiston Tribune. More here. (SR file photo)
Question: And this goof got 26% of the 2010 GOPrimary vote for governor? Anyone willing to admit that they voted for Rammell for governor or U.S senator?
“We here at the Lovestead highly approved of the mode of transportation chosen by Libby Stockdale and her dad Doug for their grand entrance to Libby's wedding (Saturday) night,” writes Marianne Love/Slight Detour. “Cuz we think our Kubota is sexy too. Doug's new tractor was spit-shined and ready to do the honors at Western Pleasure Guest Ranch where Libby and her fiancee Isaac Schoonover became husband and wife in a gorgeous setting.” More here.
Question: What was the most unusual thing about your wedding?
A few days after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, a mostly non-Muslim crowd showed up at the Spokane Islamic Center in north Spokane for afternoon prayers. “We had people come in – Christian, Jews, Native Americans – 
to show support,” said Mamdouh El-Aarag, a board member of the center, which has since moved to the Spokane Valley. “It was very touching,” said El-Aarag, who is Palestinian-American. “There are people out there who realize a very small minority does not talk for the majority of Muslims.” Ten years later, hardly a day goes by without a report from the Council on American-Islamic Relations of some offense by word or deed against Muslims in the United States. Most recently, it was reported that New York police spied on mosques at the direction of the CIA. But El-Aarag said he has seen few incidents of overt prejudice against the Muslim community in Spokane. “We have been very fortunate,” he said/Kevin Graman, SR. More here. (SR photo: Christopher Anderson)
Question: Is this an indication that the Inland Northwest isn't as intolerant as some people may think?
Spokane firefighter Ben Giese (center) approaches the 19th floor during the Spokane 9/11 Memorial Stairclimb at the Bank of America building Sunday. Each participant climbed 110 stories, which was the number of floors on the Twin Towers, and, carried a photo and a biography of a first responder who died on 9/11. (SR photo: Bart J. Rayniak)
Question: Do you climb any stairs on a daily basis?
Wally: Okay. Let’s try to pick six legislators who grasp the concept of “representative government” and who are not party puppets. Surely there must be six of them, but I say that and realize that this is Idaho, home of the Republican Mafia.
DFO: Shawn Keough & Eric Anderson of the 1st Legislative District.
Question: Can you think of 4 other Republican legislators who graps the concept of “representative government” and who aren't simply party puppets? Or does this pertain to Democrats, too?
When it closed the books on fiscal year 2011 on June 30, the state of Idaho had $85 million more than it 
anticipated. Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter had two options with part of that money: He could have expanded the grocery tax credit or he could have called a special session of the Legislature to restore some of the draconian cuts lawmakers made in Medicaid earlier this year. The governor chose the former. He chose wrongly. “My preference would be … restoring some of the current programs we have cut,” Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, told The Associated Press. “Health and Welfare would be a high priority”/Twin Falls Times-News. More here.
Question: Do you agree that the budget surplus should have gone to deep cuts in Medicaid?
We had our first child, you see. Never mind that it was a Saint Bernard puppy. We did what was expected of 
us. We got married. September 12, 1969. Now, forty two years, four Saint Bernards, two mutts and untold numbers of fish later, we are still chugging along. The years have been good to us, really. We both are in good health if you discount the aches and pains that come with five acres and seventy some years! We've still enough pride to struggle with our weight. Our hair is thinner and lacking for color. We have our own teeth and can hear just fine. We've finally matured enough to know what's important and to not apologize for our opinions whether or not people agree with us. We still pursue life with zest/Dogwalk Musings. More here.
Question: How many pets of various species have you had during your married life?
Cadet Lee Muench, a senior Biology major, repels down the side of the Kibbie Dome to present the kick-off coin at an NCAA college football game between North Dakota and Idaho on Saturday in Moscow. (AP Photo/Alicia Carlson)
On her Facebook wall, weather caster Kris Crocker writes: “So, I still get pretty star-struck when I see Nadine Woodward KXLY in person. Hopefully I won't panic when she's waiting for me at the newsdesk after the 7-day forecast today. If I accidentally ask her for her autograph, you'll know why.” KXLY has been re-adjusting its newscaster line-ups. KXLY has launched a new evening newscast lineup that features Kris, Nadine, Mike Gonzalez, and Ben Kaplan. I'm posting this to set up this question:
Question: Does someone in the Inland Northwest cause you to be star struck?
Suzette Smith, of Gig Harbor Wash., tries on a hat inside the Head 'N Home Hats tent owned by Lee Watrous, of Freedom, Calif., on Friday at Art in the Park in Boise. The 57th annual event runs through the weekend featuring hundreds of vendors from across the country as well as local artists and food vendors. (AP Photo/Idaho Press-Tribune, Charlie Litchfield)
Question: What kind of hat do you wear?
The Wednesday debate among Republican presidential candidates was held at the Reagan Library, which features the airplane the Gipper flew on as president. It’s no surprise that all of the candidates, except for Jon 
Huntsman, crowded onto the very tip of the right wing, but it’s strange that they would express their adulation for a president who traveled comfortably in the middle. I can envision a couple of Ronald Reagan’s retorts to some of the candidates’ comments. “There you go again!” Texas Gov. Rick Perry concurred with the other candidates who had rejected a hypothetical budget deal in which there would be $10 in spending cuts for every dollar in tax increases. The bipartisan Deficit Commission suggested a 3-1 ratio of cuts to new revenue. Reagan signed off on multiple tax increases, some in response to widening deficits. “Facts are ugly things”/Gary Crooks, SR Smart Bombs. More here. (SR file photo)
Question: Why do so many Republicans today want to claim the mantle of Ronald Reagan when they embrace extreme positions and refuse to compromise for the good of all?
I'm scratching my head re: that three-way race for Hayden mayor, featuring incumbent Ron McIntire, former mayor Dick Panabaker, and veteran Councilwoman Nancy (Taylor) Lowery. I figured that McIntire had told either Panabaker or Lowery or both of them that he wasn't going to seek re-election to another term. Usually, sitting council members don't challenge the sitting mayor for several reasons, including … they're hard to beat. And an incumbent mayor won't be pleased with a council member who retains office after trying and failing to take him out. A three-way race for mayor indicates to me that there's some dissatisfaction in the direction of the city of Hayden. The city has spruced up under McIntire's administration, especially Government Way, between Prairie and Miles. So what's the problem?
Question: Does anyone know why two sitting council members would challenge Hayden Mayor McIntire?
Idaho has to appoint an entirely new redistricting commission - not including any of the six commissioners who blew their deadline last week - and start the process over, Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa 
announced this morning. The reason: A 2009 law that the Legislature enacted that made several changes to the redistricting commission process, including banning past commissioners from serving again. “I think it's the law of unintended consequences,” Ysursa said. The statute mainly dealt with requiring legislative districts to have road connections. “That was part of the road statute and everything else, and I don't think that was discussed a lot,” Ysursa said. “I had to go back and refresh my memory and look at it”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Tha Sophat, a 20-month-old Cambodian boy, suckles from a cow in Siem Reap province, Cambodia, Friday. Tha Sophat started suckling the cow in July after he saw a calf do the same since his parents moved to Thailand in search of work, said his grandfather UmOeung. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Top Cutlines:
Remember how everything was going to be different? After 2,977 people died in coordinated suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the crash of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, Americans came 
together in a near-unanimous moment of unity and shared purpose. From now on, we would stop being the superficial, America-first consumerists we'd been before 9/11. (Or, depending on your outlook, we'd stop being godless, unpatriotic hedonists.) Either way, this was the call of a generation, the dawn of a new era — one of responsibility, civility and personal sacrifice. Blood donations and volunteerism spiked, church attendance and military service were expected to follow. Then-President George W. Bush called on every American to donate “4,000 hours, or two years” to charitable work. Senate Republicans and Democrats skipped out onto the Capitol steps to proclaim their bipartisanship, saying, “There is no opposition party.” But then something happened. We lost our way/Jess Walter, Seattle Times. More here. (AP photo/Medford Mail Tribune, Julia Moore: Firefighters honor the fallen on Sunday in Medford, Ore.)
Question: Is anyone proud of something that occurred in the last 10 years?
State Superintendent of School Tom Luna told state purchasing officer Sarah Hilderbrand, “We were invited by 
a vendor to go to that vendor's location” and hear from “a parade of these international experts” on online education, “to basically be their guests. We would travel at our expense, not at their expense, but it raised a lot of red flags to the point where we at the last minute canceled it. I think they understood. I think they were frustrated, we were frustrated. … How do we do the homework to make sure that the recommendations that we move forward are going to, that the water's going to get to the end of the row?”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Did Superintendent Luna make the right decision in canceling a visit to the location of the online vendor?
State and federal highways in most of the Panhandle won’t be plowed overnight this winter because of drastic cuts to the Idaho Transportation Department budget. The only overnight plowing planned for this winter will be concentrated around Interstate 90 and the Coeur d’Alene and Hayden areas, said ITD District 1 spokeswoman Barbara Babic. Babic said the suspension of overnight plowing will apply to all five northern counties. “That could change if more money becomes available, but as it stands right now that’s the plan,” Babic said on Friday/Keith Kinnaird, Bonner County Bee. More here.
Question: Will this decision cost lives?
A gas line was struck by construction crews working on the site of the Education Corridor this morning. Avista 
crews are currently working to stop the leak and repair the line. Vehicle and pedestrian traffic is being restricted in the area of the roundabout at College Drive and River Avenue. River Avenue is closed from Hubbard west and College Drive is closed from Garden Avenue north, restricting access to the Meyer Health and Sciences Building, Winton Hall, Post Hall, Timber Hall, and the River Building. An update will be sent when the leak has been repaired and streets are reopened on North Idaho College’s campus/Stacy Hudson, NIC Press Room.
“No matter how (bad) of a day you had, you come home, and he'll make it better,” Robert Shipp said about his 2-year-old son, Hunter, at their home in Rathdrum on Tuesday. Robert served four years with the U.S. Marines, including time in Kuwait and Afghanistan. Five years after they joined the Marines, one of the Shipp twins is home and thankful for help from family and veterans programs. Alison Boggs and photographer Kathy Plonka catch up with the twins from Hauser who joined the Marines together here.
A funny thing happened to Christa Hazel, of Coeur d’Alene, while she was taking her kids to school Wednesday. The new Bryan School PTA veep got popped by CPD Blue Pat Sullivan for speeding 11 mph over 
the limit at 11th and Harrison (not a school zone). At which point she had to pick between an $85 ticket that would go on her record and hike her vehicle insurance rates, or a $75 ticket, plus three-hour traffic school, that wouldn’t affect her insurance. She was told to choose on the spot, with a busload of children passing by with their little faces pressed against the windows, waving. Christa picked Door No. 2, the traffic school taught by Officer Nick Knoll. The traffic school, Christa told Huckleberries, provides insight into situations handled by police patrols. Among Christa’s traffic schoolmates was her best friend, Angie Phillips. Who was cited for going 11 mph too fast, too. (Aside: Christa and Angie once attended a NASCAR-type racing school for a week.) The worst part of Christa’s experience? Her children begged her not to tell hubby Joel about the ticket until they returned from school to witness the spectacle/DFO, Hucks Online. More here.
Weekend SR columns:
Question: Have you ever attended traffic school to prevent a speeding ticket from going on your record?
Re: NIC tab to defend lawsuit against mill property lease $152,000/Hucks Online
Larry the councilman is not up for re-election at the moment, and you certainly do not control any outcomes if he were. What is your day job? So far all I see is a guy who loves any kind of attention even if it is negative, and 
at the expense of tax payers. It never ceases to amaze me how you throw statements out to the wind with no basis of fact. NIC had an appraisal on the mill site that came in at $13,250,000.00. The purchase price was settled on at $10 million. You lost the lawsuit. I would have liked to have seen a request to the court requiring you to pay all legal fees incurred by NIC. This week our community is watching the new entrance and signal light go in at Hubbard and Northwest. This is the beginning of many more resourceful projects that bring opportunity to future students. You were flat wrong Larry and you should be sorry.(SR file photo: NIC public relations director John Martin walks across future site of education corridor)
Question: Anyoone besides Larry Spencer question the price tag to purchase the old DeArmond Mill Site and the value of the future Education Corridor to this community?
JBelle: The dedication of the memorial in Somerset County Pennsylvania yesterday crystallized most of my thoughts and feelings. Presidents Bush and Clinton approached their remarks from completely different 
angles yet both speeches were brilliant, arguably the best of their careers, with President Clinton closing with “I hope to God that in 2500 years people remember Flight 93.” I was at the W Hotel at Ground Zero the night Osama Bin Laden was captured; in the last 10 years, I have never been in New York without going to Ground Zero for a few minutes, for a prayer and for renewing hopes. New Yorkers are tougher than you can possibly imagine and they have healed and gone on, in so far as that’s possible. They delight and stir my heart. But Ground Zero will always be a painful place for me and will never cease to trigger feelings of loss and loneliness. The thing today that bothers me is the youthful faces of the hijackers that flashed across the CNN feed late last night. Last weekend I rewatched ‘Troy’ and a line that Achilles tossed off in disdain sticks with me now: in war, young men die and old men talk.”
Question: Have you ever been to Ground Zero?
Clay Bennett/Chattanooga Times Free Press
Visitors at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J., view the “Empty Sky” memorial on Saturday. The memorial, honoring New Jersey residents who died on Sept. 11, 2001, was dedicated Saturday. Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the United States. (AP Photo/Jim Gerberich)
Please use this Wild Card to share your thoughts about 9/11 or any other topic …
Coeur d'Alene Police hope that a return to school will mean fewer fights in public areas.The police have seen more juvenile fights, and reports of fights, over the summer and are not sure why. They tend to happen in the 
Third Street parking lot, by Tubbs Hill, and also by the skate park during the night.”It's a new thing that's happened this summer. We haven't had these problems in the past. It's a new trend,” Lt. Don Ashenbrenner with the Coeur d'Alene Police Department said. Shannon Brandt, from Post Falls, was visiting Lake Coeur d'Alene Friday. He says he's heard chatter among kids about more fighting.”I don't know what's going on. They need to know the decisions they make are lifelong. They need to stop,” Brandt said.Sometimes kids text each other to meet and fight. In July, that's exactly what happened. Two 16-year-old girls ended up being cited for fighting in public. Other times those involved are a bit more spontaneous/Anusha Roy, KXLY. More here.
Question: Did you get into many fights as a kid?
Idaho's Cameron McKernan, (23) runs through a pocket to score as teammate Tracy Carter (14) blocks against North Dakota in the second half of an NCAA college football game today in Moscow. ESPN/AP game story and boxscore here. (AP Photo/Alicia Carlson)
Deep into the second quarter, with the Idaho sideline in a daze and the Vandals’ season in limbo, the coaching staff decided to change things up. They were going to simplify the offense. No more throws down the field, coaches told quarterback Brian Reader. It was time to go back to what made UI’s passing game hum two years ago. And just like that, Reader became the accurate, poised QB that coach Robb Akey envisioned all along. The senior on Saturday completed 15 consecutive passes at one point and piloted four straight touchdown drives to help Idaho pull away from North Dakota, 44-14/Josh Wright, SR. More here.
I know exactly where I was when the first plane hit the first Twin Tower — in bed. I remember that my wife called from downstairs that I needed to get up and see what was happening. I tried to shake the sleep off as I stumbled down the stairs, holding the rail. I looked over her shoulder at the television set and saw the smoke, not comprehending what was happening. Then, she said: “This is going to change things.” She was spot on. It changed so many things. You can use this Wild Card to tell us how you found out about the terrorist attack on 9/11. Or how your life has changed as a result of the attack. Or to discuss anything else that comes to mind …
At the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Inkster columnist Vera White received a letter from a friend who, tongue firmly cheeked, provided a list of Barbie dolls for the Idaho market, including:
Coeur d' Alene Barbie: She comes with an assortment of Kate Spade Handbags, a Lexus SUV (with Idaho or California plates optional), a long-haired foreign dog named Belle and a million dollar waterfront home. Available with or without tummy tuck and face-lift. Workaholic Ken sold only in conjunction with the augmented version.
Question: Can you think of any other Barbies and their assessories that would be fitting for North Idaho?
September 11, 2011. Ten years after, we’ve become entangled in—yet not won—two wars; gutted our economy, as well as that of much of the rest of the world; and called off the race for space. We are 
addicted to oil. We will pay anything for it, including the blood of our young men and women. We are addicted to money and what we think it will buy. In a process that began long before the planes crashed into the towers in New York, we squandered the future of our children and our children’s children; indebting ourselves in a quest for whatever concoction Madison Avenue, Wall Street and Hollywood tells us that we need to be happy. As a culture, we have stopped thinking, but that may be a latter-day announcement, as it appears that we have never been too prone to thinking. As the reasoning animal, we can be downright unreasonable/Sandy Compton, River Journal. More here.
Question: Do you agree with Sandy Compton's analysis that our country is far worse off today than we were 10 years ago?
Every ten years, each state across the country is tasked with drawing new Congressional and state legislative boundaries to accurately reflect population changes and to accommodate the Constitutional principle of 
“one-person, one vote.” In most states, democratically elected legislators who reflect the political will of the people draw the boundaries; in fact, this took place in Idaho up until the mid-1990s when the process of redistricting was assigned to a six-member commission made up of equal parts Republicans and Democrats. Due in part to an even-numbered commission, Idaho’s redistricting process is systematically designed for failure and has proven to be an unnecessarily expensive process that doesn’t accurately reflect the political makeup of our state where Idaho Democrats don’t hold a single Congressional or Statewide office, and control less than 20% of seats in the Idaho legislature/Jonathan Parker, Idaho GOP executive director. More here.
Question: Rather than listen to the self-serving political parties, isn't it time for Idaho to appoint a nonpartisan citizen committee that would base congressional and legislative lines on common sense not politics?
Now, several of the people running for (Coeur d'Alene City Council) list McEuen Field as either as one of, or their top issue in the race. And many favor putting the matter to a public vote. Others favor moving ahead with the plan or say a public vote would be moot because the four other sitting council members oppose the public vote. Other issues raised by Coeur d’Alene challengers and incumbents are: oversight of the city’s urban renewal agency, preparing the city to attract business in a global economy, support for people with mental illness, and the city’s recent pay raises for employees/Alison Boggs, SR. More here.
Question: Who will the abundance of candidates help most — incumbents? Or main challengers to the incumbents like Steve Adams and Dan Gookin?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
As hard as it is to believe, today is my 27th anniversary with the Spokesman-Review. I arrived here Sept. 9, 1984, to be a short-term cops & courts reporter under bureau chief Doug Clark. Then, I spent nine years as a local government reporter & 13 years on the Editorial Board before this online gig expanded to become a full-time job. That pretty much sums things up. Still some mileage left in the tank. So I'll push the reminiscing aside and get on to today's work by posting this Wild Card …
Flowers float in the reflecting pool outside City Hall during the Sept. 11 Tenth Anniversary commemoration in Hermann Square today in Houston. Mayor Annise Parker joined others in a ceremony in front of the reflection pool at City Hall to honor those to lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Brett Coomer)
The city of Hayden will see a three-way race for mayor in November when incumbent Ron McIntire (pictured) squares off 
against two members of his City Council: Nancy (Taylor) Lowery and Dick Panabaker, a former Hayden mayor and Kootenai County commissioner. The three-way mayor's race will be one of two contested races in Hayden, according to a thorough list of candidates in city races countywide provided by the Kootenai County Clerk's Office moments ago. The other race will feature Kris R. LaMarr and Tim Timmons for Council Seat No. 1. Incumbent Roger Saterfiel will run unopposed for Council Seat No. 3. Elsewhere, there's a three-way race for Dalton Gardens mayor and a two-way race for Rathdrum mayor. You can see the entire list of mayoral and council races in Kootenai County towns here.
Here are the candidates for the Coeur d’Alene City Council:
Following are the candidates for Post Falls City Council with 15 minutes left before filing deadline. You can see the individual declaration of candidacy and who signed his/her petition of candidacy by clicking on links below:
It has been three years since the Spokesman-Review has visited with the Shipp twins of Hauser Lake, who joined the Marines together and have been deployed to the Middle East. The twins, Robert (left) and Matthew will be featured on the front page of the SR Saturday morning. Above, on Nov. 7, 2009, the twins met for the first time in five months while conducting counter insurgency operations in Afghanistan. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Marines)
Argentine rugby players from left, Felipe Contepomi, Rodrigo Roncero and Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe go through some exercises during a training session in Dunedin, New Zealand, Thursday. Argentina will play their opening Rugby World Cup game against England on Saturday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Top Cutlines:
The Idaho Supreme Court has issued an unexpected order this afternoon on redistricting, tossing out the GOP commissioners' lawsuit and Secretary of State Ben Ysursa's lawsuit, and declaring that the court has no authority to order the redistricting commission back to work — because the commission hadn't adopted any plan the court could rule on, giving it jurisdiction. Instead, there's only the 2002 plan from the last round a decade ago, which Ysursa asked the court to declare unconstitutional in his legal challenge, because it doesn't meet one-person, one-vote requirements due to the population shifts of the last decade/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Reaction?
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) slammed aspects of President Obama's new jobs plan as a “pipe dream.” “It's a 
pipe dream, and it's also a discouragement, for this reason,” Crapo said in an interview with Bloomberg News set to air Friday night. “It's a pipe dream in the sense that he's proposing to do the pay-fors over 10 years, but the spending is happening over two. And we need to remember that.” Crapo added that Obama's plan was discouraging because it called for deficit reductions on top of the $1.5 trillion the supercommittee is charged with finding/Daniel Strauss, The Hill. More here.
Question: Do you think President Obama's jobs plan is “a pipe dream”?
I’ve had a good deal of fun over the last few weeks teaching a college-level political science course at Boise State University. The course is built around the politics and policy of the New Deal period in the 1930′s and we 
focus a good deal on the leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt (and others) as well as the lasting impact of those challenging and dramatic days on life here in the American West. For a young adult in college today the 1930′s might as well be the 1730′s. It is ancient history, but considering the economic and political challenges we face today, I continue to be struck by the parallels between the political and policy discussion that took place in the 1930′s and the on-going debate we’re having in the country right now/Marc Johnson, The Johnson Post. More here.
Question: Do you see parallels between today and what you know about the 1930s?
Cheryl Lee Criswell wipes her eyes as attorneys give their opening statements, in Kalispell, Mont., Tuesday. After two hours of deliberation, a jury returned guilty verdicts for both Cheryl and Edwin Criswell, left, on charges of aggravated cruelty to animals late Thursday. The Criswells were charged following their rescue and that of 116 cats living with them in two trailers snowbound west of Kalispell last December. In 2006, the Criswells entered 10 Alford pleas to animal cruelty charges after the U.S. Humane Society rescued 430 animals from their squalid trailer site in Blanchard, Idaho. Story here. (AP Photo/Daily Inter Lake, Brenda Ahearn)
A man in a dull-black van tried to entice a girl who was riding a bicycle in the White Pines Drive and Grand Fir 
Drive (in Best Hills area, east of 15th Street) Thursday afternoon. The girl said she was returning from a friend's house on Winter Pines when she noticed the full-size van parked along the roadway, facing east. The van began following her rapidly backward after the girl passed it, according to police reports. At one point, the girl looked back and saw the arm of a white male beckoning her to him. The girl roade into a community park and then to the home of a friend who lives nearby. A short while later, she told her mother of the enticement incident. And the mother and a friend went in search of the van in two separate vehicles. But couldn't find it. Full SR report.
The Idaho State Police says its top accident reconstruction expert did not lie on the witness stand in a fatal road rage case that sent a Hayden man to prison for 25 years, even though the Idaho Supreme Court 
indicated the police official did give false testimony. ISP officials today released results of their internal investigation into testimony provided by Cpl. Fred Rice, a 28-year agency veteran. Rice was put on paid administrative leave in June after the Supreme Court suggested he perjured himself in the second-degree murder case of Jonathan Wade Ellington (pictured), 50. The justices overturned and ordered a new trial for Ellington, who was convicted for running over a woman during a New Year’s Day 2006 encounter on a Kootenai County highway/Spokesman-Review. More here.
Question: Ah, the Idaho Supreme Court suggested that Cpl. Fred Rice perjured himself in this case. But the ISP sez he didn't lie. Who ya gonna believe?
Chris Ganz, left, and Ben Lins hang upside down Thursday in a parking garage on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. The two men along with fellow freshmen Ryan Herberger and Chandler Welsh began what they call “Batmanning” shortly after arriving on campus. Sophomore Robert Hansen, background, thought the stunt was impressive. A video of the foursome “Batmanning” on campus has since gone viral. All four men are engineering majors. (AP Photo/Journal & Courier, John Terhune)
Question: Did you ever participate in a goofy fad when you were in college or high school?
North Idaho College paid more than $152,000 to successfully fight that lawsuit filed against the DeArmond Mill Site purchase by Larry Spencer, Tom Macy (picured), and Bill McCrory. Huckleberries Online has obtained the 
breakdown of the payments to the North Idaho College Foundation and the attorney firm of Ramsden & Lyons for their legal work in defense of the lawsuit. In their unsuccessful suit, Spencer, Macy, and McCrory alleged unsuccessfully that the original lease agreement for the eventual purchase of the mill site violated Idaho Constitution's restriction of the debt local taxing districts may take on. The men contend that public entities must first win two-thirds voter approval or authorization by a judge before they may legally incur long-term debt. In February, District Judge John Mitchell ruled that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the lawsuit. Legal expense breakdown here.
Question: It'd be interesting to tabulate how much money has been wasted by local governments in Kootenai County fighting lawsuits brought by so-called conservatives fighting their myriad causes?
It used to be simple. You’d park the pickup truck, pop the tailgate, grill a burger, down a beer or two and head 
into the game. But tailgating has gotten so complicated, especially for die-hard Bobcat fans. Jim Waldon is known to other tailgaters as “one of those guys from Great Falls.” His tailgate, with three trailers, is hard to miss. The biggest trailer has a custom Bobcat paint job and is already parked outside Bobcat Stadium. It’s on Kagy Boulevard, right along the walk where players enter the stadium, and it is one of Montana State University’s largest and most established tailgates. Waldon, MSU class of ’80, said the guys from Great Falls feed “anywhere from 300 to 600 people, depending on the game.” It’s all paid for from donations/Rachel Hergett, Bozeman Chronicle. More here. (SR file photo/Christopher Anderson, of a 2010 tailgate party at Eastern Washington)
Question: Have you ever tailgated at a sports event?
Larry Spencer: Man, sometimes I hate being on the side that can’t shoot straight, or even understand when it is time to pull the proverbial trigger. So with four hours left, we have apparently conceded Ron E’s seat to him or the fresh face Democratic candidate rumored to have been recruited by MikeK. With those two splitting the Dem and independent vote, all a Republican candidate would have to do to win is throw his or her hat in the ring and tell the newspaper that he or she is proud to be a Republican.
Question: Are you concerned that incumbent Ron Edinger & Adam Graves are the only candidates for Edinger's current council seat?
Judy Jonart, the curriculum director for Butte School District 1 mans the picket line Thursday afternoon in front of the school administration building as the school administrators strike over salary increases went into day three shortly before Butte-Silver Bow District Court Judge Brad Newman issued a temporary restraining order allowing children to return to class Friday morning. (AP Photo/Montana Standard: Walter Hinick)
On her Idaho Scenic Images Face book wall, Linda Lantzy posts this picturesque North Idaho scene, which she titles: “The Road Less Traveled.” The title is a knockoff on Robert Frost's “The Road Not Taken.” Which concludes:
“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Question: Have you ever looked back and wondered how your life would be different had you taken a different road at a key juncture in your life?
Here's another Hucks Online favorite from the latest Downtown Coeur d'Alene Bar Report (Aug. 18-Sept. 6): 
Seems a 20YO female has been using a fake name and ID for some time to buy hootch at Downtown Coeur d'Alene bars. Her scheme came to a screeching halt around 12:09 a.m. Saturday when police stopped her for violating the open-container law. The schemer had been meeting up with her mother at the bars and was well known at various watering holes. When confronted, she initially lied to officers but when cornered, admitted her real name and age. Later, her mother contacted officers to chew them out for arresting her daughter. Bottom line: “Both the mother and daughter were 86’d from the Iron Horse.” Again, latest Bar Report.
Question: What kind of mother would encourage her daughter's underage drinking?
Per usual, there was a whole lotta of public peeing going on between Aug. 18 & Sept. 6 in downtown Coeur 
d'Alene. But the public urinator who caught the attention of Hucks Online was one that CPD Blues didn't catch. At 2:28 a.m. on a recent Tuesday, the 30YO drunk was stopped by local Blues when he almost ran into a patrol car while jaywalking in 300 block of E. Sherman Avenue, according to the latest Downtown Coeur d'Alene Bar Report. The guy was so blotto that he had this response when asked by the cops why he thought he was being detained. Seems the guy thought he'd been stopped for urinating in public. Yep, it's time for the latest Downtown Bar Report here.
Question: Feel free to comment on any of the report items that interest you.
Nike is going back to the future. The sneaker maker on Thursday said it has created a limited-edition shoe based on a glowing pair that appeared in the popular 1989 movie “Back to the Future II” The 2011 Nike Mag is designed to be an exact replica of the fictional sneaker, including a glowing Nike name on the strap. But unlike the movie version, these shoes won't lace themselves. (AP Photo/Nike)
Question: What brand of tennis shoe do you wear?
On her Facebook wall, Trish Gannon of the River Journal writes: “I hear Sandpoint Middle School invited the police in to talk to students about the zero-policy for 'sexting,' and that students were told if they were caught doing so, they would be arrested and registered as a sex offender 'for the rest of their life!' Sheesh. I can't think who I'm more disgusted with.” Good conversation about this under way on Trish's Facebook wall here.
Question: Should a teen caught “sexting” be forced to register as a sex offender?
On Thursday evening, an unpopular president told an unpopular Congress to get to work and pass his jobs bill. Right away, as he said several times. President Barack Obama repeatedly tried to sweeten the deal by 
reminding his skeptics across the aisle that many of the ideas in his bill were Republican ideas. The reaction? House Speaker John Boehner, stone-faced for much of the speech, later allowed that the president’s proposals “merit consideration.” That was more of a harrumph than the Idaho Republican delegation could muster. Our lawmakers couldn’t decide whether to rip the president for “recycling” his concept of economic stimulus (Sen. Jim Risch’s word), or rip him for offering up a bunch of “short-term Band-Aids” (Rep. Mike Simpson’s words). So they compromised and did some of both. Politics as usual, in unusual times/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Can we afford politics as usual in these unusual times, particularly from our Idaho congressional delegation?
Jen, a kindergarten teacher who writes A Butterfly Moment, offered “10 things all kindergarteners should be able to do coming into class”:
Question: Do you know all these things upon entering kindergarten/first grade?
American flags, one for each of the 2,997 people killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, catch the rising sun as students go to class at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., this morning. LSSU's campus life office spent the night of Sept. 8 placing the display on a 1000-square-foot section of the campus commons. The display will be up through the afternoon of Sept. 11. (AP Photo/Lake Superior State University, John Shibley)
Question: Do we remember 9/11 with the same passion that our parents and grandparents remember Dec. 7 (Pearl Harbor Day)? Why? Why not?
God bless those firemen and those cops
who headed for the building tops
up pitch black stairs toward hell above:
“No man hath any greater love…”
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
In a world obsessed with jewelry, there are rings for everything. Rings for graduations, sports teams, promise rings for a new love, engagement rings and wedding bands. But now there’s a new type of memorabilia ring, 
except this one doesn’t represent something normally thought of as pleasant. It’s the divorce ring.
This diamond ring, from jewelers Spritzer and Furman, is an 18-karat gold broken heart with a diamond wedge that represents shattered love. It’s an ugly little thing that costs $3,200 — a pricey way to say, “Sorry it didn’t work out.” Divorce isn’t something most people celebrate. Sometimes there’s the post divorce party or get away that friends plan to distract the recently single divorcee, but really? Is it necessary to design specialized rings to represent a shattered heart?/Rhiannon Rias, UI Argonaut. More here.
Question: Would you wear a ring advertising your divorce?
The state may soon give its stamp of approval to a proposed rule that would require high school students to 
take online classes in order to graduate. The Idaho State Board of Education will hold a special meeting today in Boise to vote on the rule. The measure would still have to go before the Idaho Legislature during the 2012 session, which starts in January. Under the proposal, students starting in the class of 2016 would have to take at least two online credits. Scott Rogers, superintendent of the Minidoka County School District, said there are a lot of unanswered questions about the state’s proposal/Julie Wootten, Twin Falls Times-News. More here.
Question: Does this mean the education wrecking-ball duo of Tom Luna/Butch Otter with much help from Kootenai County legislators Bob Nonini & John Goedde has finally won the day?
Jeers … to the Idaho Redistricting Commission's three Republican members - Evan Frasure of Pocatello, Lou Esposito of Eagle and Finman. Less than a day after failing at their jobs, they sought to shirk their 
responsibility by asking the Idaho Supreme Court to do the work. If they were so eager to file this lawsuit, you have to wonder how long they'd been strategizing this ploy. The court is going to be involved in any event. With no new plan in effect, Secretary of State Ben Ysurusa wants the Supreme Court to direct the redistricting commission back to the table with a 60-day deadline. But the GOP members seek a three-day deadline. They want the court to hand them a victory by implementing their congressional district boundaries and approving one of four GOP legislative district maps. Oh, and they want you to pay their attorney, Christ Troupis/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Other Idaho Opinion:
Question: Should Idaho taxpayers have to pick up the bill on the lawsuit filed by the three Republican redistricters who failed to do their job on time?
A decade later, some of those whose childhoods were marked by 9/11 remember and reflect on its impact — or lack thereof — on their lives. Clockwise from upper left: Abbie Magee, Sheridan Robak, Ben Oakley, Matt Tarzwell, Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin and Autumn Plumbo. Jody Lawrence-Turner SR story here. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)
Question: How has 9/11 affected your children?
Mejdai: Grrrr! Stop the blather. My husband needs a job now. I don’t care about 10 year employment statistics 
or that this bill can’t pass. I don’t care about Obama (I am not a fan, by the way) doing this just so he can blame republicans. I don’t care about tea party republicans sticking to their guns and slowly dismantling government. I feel like nobody is actually hearing those of us who are actually, not just theoretically, suffering from this stupid recession. Screw republicans, screw democrats, especially screw the record-profit-earning-no-job-creating corporations that run this country. I don’t care about theory, just try something IMMEDIATELY even if it was proposed by someone who proposed something that didn’t work last time. What good are long term plans if everything falls apart irrecoverably in the short term? (AP photo, of President Obama making his jobs proposal Thursday)
Question: Do you think the reaction of the Idaho congressional delegation — all of whom opposed President Obama's plans to spur job growth — is a comfort to Mejdai?
The old cliché’ about necessity being the mother of invention is evident in how Canyon officials are attempting to deal with an increasing prison population and a facility not designed to handle them all, not to mention 
another important factor – saving tax dollars. The county is using an ankle bracelet monitoring system to keep tabs on inmates instead of incarcerating them. Ankle bracelet systems allow those who are first-time offenders or non-violent offenders to stay out of jail while still being accounted for by the courts. The money-saving element is no small factor either. For example, the per day cost for a prisoner at the Canyon County Jail is $50-$54. The average cost for an ankle bracelet is around $10 a day/Mitch Coffman, Idaho Reporter. More here.
Question: Does Idaho incarcerate too many people?
A new study by the Army Corps of Engineers says that trees growing on levees can strengthen the flood-
control structures in some circumstances, but indicated that results vary by soil type, climate conditions and levee design. “These results cannot be generalized to apply to every levee system,” said Maureen Corcoran, an Army Corps research geologist. Trees and their root systems can either increase or decrease levee safety, she said, and must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. The city of Coeur d’Alene learned this year that hundreds of mature ponderosa pine trees growing along Rosenberry Drive, also known as “the dike road,” don’t comply with the corps’ national levee standards/Becky Kramer, SR. More here. (SR file photo)
Question: Any guesses re: how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will respond now that the city of Coeur d'Alene has decided not to be bullied by the agency to clear-cut Dike Road ponderosas?
Clay Bennett/Chattanooga Times Free Press
I've studiously avoided posting much about the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, to give you some relief from the current media saturation. I'll post something Friday to provide an opportunity for comments. But today we'll concentrate on business & silliness per usual, as the filing deadline for mayoral, council, & fire district candidates continues to wind down. Now, for your daily Wild Card …
“He loves it,” said Thomas Cole of Coeur d'Alene as he rode his bike through Post Falls with his dog Tony Joe on Thursday. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)
President Obama on Thursday night will appeal to Congress to “stop the political circus” and help him get the economy moving again with a package of spending and tax cut initiatives expected to cost $447 billion. “The 
people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities,” Mr. Obama will say before a joint session of Congress, according to his prepared remarks. “The question tonight is whether we'll meet ours. The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy.” Calling his economic package the “American Jobs Act,” Mr. Obama plans to tell the legislature that Washington can't turn the economy around itself, but it can provide a boost to the private sector/Stephanie Condon, NBC News. More here. (AP photo: Rep. Jeff Landry, R-La., holds a sign during President Obama's speech.)
Question: Does a $447B jobs bill have a ghost of a chance to pass in a divided Congress?
Estefania Mejia, 17, blows up balloons in Environmental Science class at Skyview High School in Nampa. The balloons were intended as visual aids for a discussion of carbon sinks in teacher AJ Wilkens class. (AP Photo/Statesman, Chris Butler)
Auction company J.P. King opened the auction of Duane Hagadone's old residence on Thursday afternoon, 
and 20 minutes after 2 p.m., the auction ended. Two registered bidders were interested in the property, at 3155 E. Harrison, on 15 acres of Stanley Hill. Neither bidder came up to the reserve price of $7.5 million. Look for a story later this evening on Spokesman.com that fills in some of the blanks. Perhaps the bidders were turned off by some of the glaring inadequacies of Mr. Hagadone's home on the hill. Such as: No built-in vacuum system; no trash compactor (the shame); no air purifier (admittedly not needed in these parts); and no sauna/SR Office Hours. More here.
Question: Why didn't anyone make an acceptable offer for Duane Hagadone's discounted Cherry Hill property?
On its Facebook wall, KXLY shows the new anchor team for PM newscasts — Mike Gonzalez & Nadine Woodward …
Hucks Numbers (for Wednesday, Sept. 7): 7727/4698, and (for Tuesday) 8681/5367
Gov. Butch Otter today praised the federal government's decision to drop charges against Jeremy Hill, the Bonners Ferry man who shot and killed a grizzly bear, saying he feared for the safety of his children who had 
been playing outside. But Otter, who served three terms in Congress from 2000 to 2006, also called on federal lawmakers to fix a “badly” flawed Endangered Species Act. “It’s time for Congress to join us in recognizing that protecting property as well as lives needs to be a much bigger part of the equation if efforts to recover species are going work in the West.” Otter's call for reform more or less echoes comments made Wednesday by current First Congressional District Rep. Raul Labrador. This much seems clear: Hill's case could be the next flashpoint in the call for Endangered Species Act reform/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here. (AP file photo, of Otter & Labrador at GOP Victory Party in November 2010)
Question: Is it time to change the Endangered Species Act to provide more protection for property owners like Jeremy Hill, who killed a grizzly cub to protect his children?
In announcing his bid for re-election, Coeur d'Alene Councilman John Bruning said in part today: “I am 
running because I want Coeur d'Alene to remain the city of excellence that it is now. We can all be very proud of what we have — the Centennial Trail, a beautiful new library, the Kroc Center, a parks system that is second to none in the state, a wastewater treatment plant that is one of the most technically advanced in the nation, and a single-stream recycling program that is one of the first in the state. … In order to remain competitive, we cannot sit back and relax with what we have done in the past. We have to keep moving ahead.” Full announcement here.
Question: John Bruning or Steve Adams or Amber Copeland?
A model plays solitaire on her touchpad while getting a pedicure backstage before the spring 2012 collection of Tadashi Shoji is modeled during Fashion Week in New York today. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Question: How often do you play solitaire?
Terry Harris of the Kootenai Environmental Alliance reports via Twitter that his organization has collected 2100 signatures of individuals who oppose the demand by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to level the viewtiful ponderosas along Rosenberry Drive (Dike Road around North Idaho College) — 500 online and 1600 on print petitions. The Coeur d'Alene City Council, of course, short-circuited the process somewhat by voting this week to oppose the corps demands and to appoint an ad hoc committee to fight it.
When our kids head to college we seem to become, whether we like it or not, walking billboards for their
schools - hats or tee shirts, jackets or windbreakers - all with the college's name on them. Our daught er will soonbe graduating from CWI - College of Western Idaho - and until yesterday, there were NO logo'd shirts, hats or anything that a proud papa could wear. Until (Sept. 1) … That problem was solved and my sweet daughter gave me a CWI gift. How fun to wear her “colors”! How proud we are of her many years of working toward her degree/Dennis Mansfield. More here.
DFO: I'm with Dennis on this one. I've worn paraphernalia from every one of my kids' college stops: Linfield, University of Portland, UColorado School of Medicine, Portland State, and University of Florida. My 2 favorite items are a T-shirt showing an alligator in a doc's garb for the UF medical school and the appealing black-and-teal baseball cap with a stylish Viking my daughter gave me when she entered grad school.
Question: Which college garb have you worn to advertise your kids' colleges?
In my old neighborhood, we only locked our doors during zucchini season. Waves of the vegetables would 
arrive at our doorstep, sent by those who were too sick of them to eat any more. No matter how many stir-fries, fritters, pizzas and tamales we threw them at, the zucchini kept coming … like a crowd of hungry zombies. The relationship between man and zucchini can get so adversarial that the concept “know your enemy,” from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, becomes apropos. If you hope to weather a sustained zucchini attack, it helps to understand your foe. So here are four burning questions about zucchini, followed by my answers, that will help you use and appreciate a crop that, as we speak, is taking over gardens across the Northern Hemisphere/Ari Levaux, Inlander. More here.
Question: How do you get rid of your extra zucchini? And/or: Are you still on speaking terms with gardening neighbors who try to give you their extra zucchini?
Ben & Jerry's plans to introduce a “Schweddy Balls” themed ice cream. The new flavor is best identified with the very popular and iconic Saturday Night Live skit featuring Alex Baldwin, Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon. Ben & Jerry's made the announcement regarding the new ice cream on Wednesday. The flavor will be introduced early this fall and will be available through December. All Headline News story here. (AP Photo/Ben & Jerry's)
Question: What is your favorite type and brand of ice cream?
Two new polls today find that just one third of the public feels President Obama deserves re-election while five 
times more Americans think Obama has done a worse job fixing the economy than Jimmy Carter, the modern era's Herbert Hoover. Washington Whispers contributor John Zogby tells us that his new polling is spirit-crushing for the depressed White House. “It was a very bad week for Barack Obama. Our polling shows his job approval at 39 percent and the percentage saying he deserves re-election at 33 percent, both the lowest of his term, while the percentage of voters saying the nation is on the wrong track reached a high since he took office at 75 percent,” he said/Paul Bedard, U.S. News & World Reports, Washington Whispers. More here. (AP file photo: of Barack Obama)
Question: What can President Obama, who plans a major speech on jobs and the economy tonight, do to turn the economy around before it's too late for his presidency?
Twitter said Thursday that it now boasts 100 million active users, half of which tweet to the site on a daily 
basis. That figure represents an 82 percent increase since the beginning of the year, Twitter representatives said in an email. All told, the company's active userbase is increasing faster in 2011 than in 2010, and the company said it is on pace to add more active users - 26 million - in the next four months as in 2006 through 2009 combined. In 2011, the number of users that log in to Twitter every day has slightly more than doubled, or grown 105 percent. Over 55 percent of active users contribute tweets from a smartphone or other mobile device, Twitter said/Mark Hachman, PCMag.com. More here.
Question: Do you tweet or follow anyone on Twitter?
A U.S. appeals court handed President Barack Obama a victory for his signature healthcare law on Thursday, ruling against challenges by the state of Virginia and others seeking to invalidate the law as unconstitutional. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overturned a lower court judge who had ruled the federal government could not compel people to buy health insurance or face paying a penalty. This is known as the individual mandate and takes effect in 2014. Virginia had contended this provision conflicted with a state statute, giving it standing to challenge the federal law/Jeremy Pelofsky, Reuters. More here. (AP file photo — President Barack Obama signs the health care bill March 23, 2010.)
Reaction?
Doug Flansburg, a longtime Palouse farmer, takes a break from wheat harvesting to spend a few days at a lake cabin near Heyburn State Park on Lake Coeur d'Alene Wednesday. Flansburg, a split end with the Washington State Cougars in 1965-1968, will be inducted into the Cougs' Hall of Fame. John Blanchette SR column here. (SR photo: Jesse Tinsley)
On her Facebook wall, FB Friend Jill Kuraitis of Boise writes: “My car wouldn't start. I opened the hood and peered around - might as well have been a bomb factory in there for all I know about cars - and waved my 
hand around. Let the hood slam and the car started. For a fee, I will come and peer at your car's engine too.” I know how Jill feels. I'm a guy, and I'm clueless when something goes wrong under the hood. During my trip through Yosemite Park for a family wedding at Convict Lake (Mammoth Lakes area) in central California, my “check engine” light went on. We were miles from any help in any direction. Luckily, my brother Ed is a big-time mechanic & I had cell-phone service. He said not to worry. “Check engine” lights go on all the time. Usually something minor. He was right. I drove to the wedding and a thousand miles back home w/o problems.
Question: Do you know what to do when something goes wrong with your car engine?
So you think there's no snakes in North Idaho. Well, photographer Daniel Kasza of Bearfeet Nature Photography has encountered snakes three different times in the four years he's been hiking Tubbs Hill, including this garter snake recently.
For some reason this Non Sequitur 'toon by Wiley Miller caught my attention …
A funny thing happened to Christa Hazel, new VP for the Bryan Elementary PTA, on the way to school Wednesday morning — she got popped by CPD Blue Pat Sullivan for speeding 11 mph over limit @ 11th & 
Harrison (not a school zone). At which point she had the choice of a $85 ticket that would go on her record and would be considered by her insurance company. Or a $75 ticket plus 3-hour traffic school with the ticket not reported to insurance. She was forced to make the choice on the spot, with a bus load of children passing by with their little faces pressed against the windows, waving. She picked the traffic school, taught by Officer Nick Knoll. The traffic school, Christa told Huckleberries, provides plenty of insight about what our CDA PD encounters while on traffic patrol. Christa was “classmates” with her best friend, Angie Phillips, who was also popped for going 11 mph over the speed limit recently. Believe it or not, The two once attended a NASCAR-type racing school for a week. Adding insult to injury, Christa's children begged her not to tell hubby Joel about the ticket until they returned from school to witness the spectacle. (Photo: Christa Hazel, left, and Angie Phillips)
Question: When did you last get a speeding ticket?
Linda Lantzy/Idaho Scenic Images was en route back from the Lochsa area when she spotted this scenic on the Palouse, which she labels, “Crushed by Time.”
… Former Idaho legislator George Sayler has filed as a candidate for Coeur d'Alene City Council seat No. 3 (currently held by Al Hassell), and Amber Copeland has filed for Coeur d'Alene City Council seat No. 5 (currently held by John Bruning). This, according to City Clerk Susan Weathers. Sayler will face Dan Gookin and Copeland will be in a three-way race with Bruning and Steve Adams. Incumbent Ron Edinger will face Adam Graves in the other City Council race. Of course, more candidates could file between now and the deadline: 5 p.m. Friday.
There’s no point in letting the corpse cool. At 5 p.m. Tuesday, a bipartisan citizens’ commission hit its final 
deadline, with no plan in hand to redraw the state’s congressional and legislative districts. At 5:53 p.m., Idaho Republican Party Chairman Norm Semanko issued a statement kicking the dead body — and declaring the redistricting process a waste of public money. You see, Semanko isn’t worried about getting fellow Republicans elected. Perish the thought. He’s worried about you and your taxpayer dollars. What a guy? No. What a crock/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Would you want the Idaho Redistricting Commission to have more Republicans than Democrats, as GOPoobah Norm Semanko suggests?
But when the Tribune filed a public records request to examine the (concealed weapons permit held by murderer Ernesto Bustamante), it was denied. Idaho's lawmakers decided the fact that someone had a CWP 
should be exempt from Idaho's public records law. In Idaho, your driver's license is a public record. So is your car registration. Also a matter of public record is what real estate you own and what it's worth for taxing purposes - as is whether you are current on your property taxes. The same once was true for concealed weapon permits. When former Lewiston Democratic Sen. Bruce Sweeney helped grant ordinary Idahoans access to a concealed weapon permit in 1990, his bill provided public disclosure. Go ahead and get a permit, but your neighbors had a right to know if you had one. In fact, it became common for Idaho newspapers to occasionally publish a list of people authorized to conceal and carry firearms/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Should Idaho law be changed to again require disclosure of those who have concealed-weapons permits?
Contrary Mary isn't anything if she's not consistent in her rants against any and all who dare to see things 
differently that she does. County Clerk Cliff Hayes, who has been golden for Mary's OpenCDA crowd simply because he's not Dan English, is the latest to incur the Wrath of Mary. Seems she isn't too pleased with Cliff's recent announcement that the county will pick up the postage for absentee ballots. Commenting on an OpenCDA.com post, Mary writes: “I’m not happy about the County Clerk’s apparent love of voting by mail. Does he think it’s safer, less open to misuse? Or is it just cheaper. That’s not what I’m looking for as a voter, I want to know the system is secure and honest, even if it costs more and is less convenient.” You can read the post and comments thread here.
Question: Did the county clerk's office do the right thing by agreeing to pay for postage on absentee ballots? Or is it a poor replacement for the absentee polling places that the clerk pulled from City Halls?
Kylie Brown, right, breaks down as she begins to speak about her sorority sister, Katheryn M. “Katy” Benoit, as Megan Short, left, moves to comfort her, during a memorial service for the slain University of Idaho graduate student, Wednesday on the UI campus in Moscow. Story here. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)
It’s the end for Cyrus O’Leary’s. Sunday marks the final day for this iconic downtown Spokane restaurant at 516 W. Main Ave. Yeah, I thought about delivering the lousy news in a more palatable way. But why 
sugarcoat it? The only positive aspect is that there’s still time to drop in and top off a fine meal with an even finer slice of pie. Be sure to give your respects to owner Erkki Oranen, who is pretty broken up about having to close Cyrus O’Leary’s after a wildly popular 31-year run. Oranen, 58, cites a number of factors that led him to this decision. The sour economy is a given, naturally. And the restaurant business is more competitive than ever. … But the deal breaker came from Dru Hieber, the property manager who holds the lease/Doug Clark, SR. More here.
Question: Are you a Cyrus O'Leary's fan?
“This is one of those photo assignments that stress me out long after it’s over,” posts SR photographer Colin Mulvany of Snaps & Frames. “Reporter John Stucke had done his shoe-leather work in securing the interview with the two friends and the brother who witnessed the murder of Jennifer Sitliff, 20, by a mutual friend of theirs last Saturday night. We all met up at the victim’s grandmother’s house. I tried to be a fly on the wall during the interview. As the subjects recounted the shooting and its aftermath, they all showed their grief in different ways. It’s hard to trip the shutter at a moment like this, but it is one that I felt was honest and revealing. At home that night, I didn’t feel good about the emotional photo that would appear in the morning newspaper. Instead, I just felt haunted by their tragic story.”
Question: Would you want to be a reporter or photographer covering a story like this?
On his Movies & More blog, Dan Webster published the once-controversial “Edison Test,” a list of 17 questions compiled by Thomas Edison in 1921 to test readers smarts. Dan said he needed to apologize to his teachers because he correctly answered all 17 questions. I got 15 of 17. Tell us your score after you take the test here.
It’s faded and threadbare and its edges have begun to unravel. I pulled the white-flowered pink towel from the dryer and folded it, carefully smoothing the frayed trim. Each time I find it in the laundry I set it aside to go in the rag pile, only to snatch it back and replace it in the linen cupboard.The towel once belonged to my grandmother/Cindy Hval, SR Front Porch. More here.
Question: What sentimental keepsakes do you hold on to?
Item: Edinger seeks to retain council seat/Tom Hasslinger, CdA Press
More Info: Coeur d'Alene City Council President Ron Edinger isn't pandering for votes. The seat 1 incumbent, 
former mayor and public servant for 40 plus years, opposes the proposed large scale changes to McEuen Field because he doesn't feel it represents the community's will, not to score any political points. “To suggest that I would pander for votes on a topic such as the redevelopment of McEuen Field, Tubbs Hill, the (American) Legion Baseball Field and Third Street Boat Launch would suggest someone knows nothing about me as an individual,” Edinger said Wednesday in a press release declaring his run for re-election. “I will continue to be a strong, outspoken advocate for preserving Tubbs Hill and McEuen Field.”
Question: Do you think Ron Edinger is pandering for votes with his opposition to McEuen Field changes?
Congressman Raul Labrador issued the following statement after the federal government dropped charges against Jeremy Hill of Bonners Ferry for shooting a grizzly: “I am pleased the US Attorney's Office has chosen 
to drop all criminal charges against Jeremy Hill. Jeremy is not a criminal who needed to be prosecuted—he did what he thought necessary to protect his family and then did the right thing by notifying the proper authorities. The federal government has recognized what most Idahoans already knew—that a split-second, life-or-death decision to protect you and your family from a wild, apex predator does not warrant prosecution in the name of species recovery. I am sure the Hill family is very relieved at this time, but Congress needs to reform the law to make sure that no one’s life is ever put at risk because they are afraid to act due to the risk of prosecution.”
Question: Would the federal government have dropped charges if Gov. Otter, the Idaho congressional delegation, and many others hadn't come to Jeremy Hill's defense?
Signe Wilkinson/Philadelphia Inquirer
Republican presidential candidates, from left, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., and former Sen. Rick Santorum enter the hall for a Republican presidential candidate debate at the Reagan Library today in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Nice to see the Coeur d'Alene City Council decide to fight the goofy demand by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clear-cut trees along Rosenberry Drive (Dike Road), along the Lake Coeur d'Alene north shore. I don't think it's an accident that two council members seeking re-election — John Bruning and Ron Edinger — first & seconded the motion to dig in. This is further proof that when the people will lead the leaders will follow. Now for your daily Wild Card …
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has dropped misdemeanor charges against a Porthill, Idaho, man who shot and 
killed a grizzly bear in his yard. Instead, Jeremy M. Hill was issued a citation for the May 8 shooting of the male grizzly, and paid a $1,000 fine. A press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that state and federal wildlife officials were unable to establish the location of Hill’s children when three grizzly bears were first sighted in the yard, about forty yards from the Hill home. Hill told law enforcement officers that he last saw his children outside playing basketball in front of their home, but that he didn’t know where his children were when he saw the three grizzly bears near his pig pen. The two other bears ran off after Hill shot the 2-year-old male/Becky Kramer, SR. More here. (News Bonners Ferry photo/Mike Weland: Rachel Hill and she and Jeremy's six children attend husband/father Jeremy Hill's arraignment earlier this summer.)
Question: Good call by U.S. Attorney's Office?
Popular chain-grocery Trader Joe’s will open its first Spokane store on Oct. 28, the company said today. The 
California-based retailer of specialty items, including organic foods, snack mixes and discount wines, is completing work on its 12,000-square-foot store at the Lincoln Heights Shopping Center on Spokane’s South Hill. Area fans of Trader Joe’s have been clamoring for the store to move into Spokane. The company announced plans to build the Spokane store earlier this year. Trader Joe’s spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki said applications for store jobs will be accepted next week at the store, at 2975 E. 29th/Spokesman-Review. More here.
Question: Will you shop at Trader Joe's, even if it means going to Spokane?
Idaho quarterback Nathan Enderle (10) attempts a pass as tight end Taylor Elmo (81) blocks during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game against Nevada last Nov. 6 at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow. The Chicago Bears have decided to keep Enderle on their roster although he may not be activated. Story here. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)
You have not been to hell on earth until you have sat through a redistricting meeting. If there is a word smaller and more precise than “nitpick” and then a word much smaller than that, it might describe it — Jill Kuraitis, via Facebook wall.
Garrett Fields, of Portland, cools off in a fountain Wednesday in downtown Portland, Ore. Expecting what could be the hottest days of 2011, the National Weather Service in Portland has issued a heat advisory for much of the Portland area and Oregon's Willamette Valley. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Question: How are you staying cool during these unexpected hot days of early September?
… That Coeur d'Alene Carousel Foundation is pressing the Coeur d'Alene City Council behind the scenes to construct a 12,000sf building for the historic city carousel — at Independence Point. It might be an issue that's bubbling under the 
surface for this year's council race. No formal request has been made. Nancy Edinger, wife of Councilman Ron Edinger left a message for Huckleberries this PM to say that a site closer to the Human Rights Institute has been considered but not Independence Point. At last night's council meeting, Councilman Edinger called from the audience Rita Sims-Snyder (who's fighting the Bloem administration tooth & nail to scale McEuen Field changes way back) to discuss Carousel plans. It'll be fun to see the Carousel spinning again. BUT not at Independence Point. I can't imagine constructing a building that would obscure the current view of the lake (as was the case in the old days when Templin's restaurant and the bungalows behind it hid the view). There's gotta be a better place for the Carousel than Independence Point. (SR file photo/Kathy Plonka: Coeur d'Alene Carousel Foundation President Richard Le Francis carriesa carousel horsenear Independence Point on Monday.)
Question: Where to you think the Carousel should go?
North Idaho College posted a 6.4 percent increase in enrollment for fall 2011, despite several changes to 
registration and enrollment processes that affected comparisons to soaring enrollment increases the past few years. Headcount is up from 6,347 in the fall of 2010 to a record breaking 6,751 this fall. “While this fall’s headcount is a drop from several years of double-digit enrollment growth, 6.4 percent is a very robust increase and more than two percentage points higher than we projected in our fiscal year 2012 budget,” said NIC President Priscilla Bell/Sheldon Nord, NIC Press Room. More here.
Question: Do you ever attend a community college?
I enjoy riding my Giant mountain bike that my wife bought for my birthday from Coeur d'Alene Cycling & Fitness 2 years ago. It cost about $400. Which is a fair price to pay for a bike that gets me to work and back — and down to the waterfront on weekends. But the price falls far short of the $5000 (originally reported as $7000 in Coeur d'Alene police reports) that ex-NFL QB Drew Bledsoe paid for the “Santa Cruz” bike that was stolen from him during a Labor Day visit to Coeur d'Alene Sunday night.
Question: How much is your bike worth? Also, do you trust your bike lock to keep thieves away?
Check out this wild “shootout” (about 45 second mark) during the Labor Day Parade at St. Maries (do you think it would be permitted at Coeur d'Alene's 4th of July Parade?):
The Kootenai County Reagan Republicans are running a straw poll for the 2012 presidential race, offering 16 candidates for possible choice by readers. RR prez Jeff Ward sent Huckleberries HQ a message welcoming Hucks Online readers to participate in the poll. The straw poll winner will be announced Sept. 17, with the information posted on the Reagan Republican web site the following day. More here.
Question: If you had to vote right now for president, who'd get your vote?
Support for Islamic extremism has seen a very significant decline since the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. By the time Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy Seals in May, he and his al Qaeda network had been largely discredited in the Arab and Muslim world. But with a few exceptions, the Muslim world's image of the United States is still pretty awful. How did we end up here - not much better than we were before 9/11?/Elise LaBott & Jill Daugherty, CNN. More here. (AP file photo: Muslims protesters burn a U.S. flag)
Question: Are you surprised that the United States is still viewed dimly by Aram & Muslim counties? Do you care?
Sorry, hydrangeas: Madonna’s just not that crazy for you. Just days after a video of the multi-hyphenate dismissing a bouquet of hydrangeas from a fan went viral, a rep has released a statement regarding the floral spurn, which occurred at the Venice Film Festival. (Madonna was at the fete premiering her film W.E.) Said the rep in a statement to CNN: “She’s entitled to like any flower she wants and she didn’t want to hurt the feeling of the hydrangeas of the world … No disrespect to the hydrangeas lovers of the world but she prefers different types of flowers”/Kate Ward, PopWatch. More here.
Question: Do you grow hydrangeas?
Idaho's bipartisan citizen redistricting commission Republican members, from left, Lou Esposito, Lorna Finman and Evan Frasure confer in the Idaho Statehouse auditorium during the commission meeting on Tuesday, the final day to come to an agreement on redistricting. See story below. (AP Photo/Idaho Statesman: Joe Jaszewski)
Drew Bledsoe, of Bend, Ore., the former Washington State QB who went on to become a Pro Bowler with the 
New England Patriots, experienced an unhappy visit to Coeur d'Alene over the Labor Day weekend. Bledsoe's $5000 (originally listed as $7000 in the police report) “Santa Cruz” model bicycle was stolen from the 1000 block of East Front Avenue while he and his family were dining out with friends Sunday night. Bledsoe didn't notice the bike missing until early Monday afternoon. According to a Coeur d'Alene police report, Bledsoe said that a cable lock had been used to lock his bicycle with two others. The thieves took only his bike. The bike has a large frame and is black carbon in color with an “All Seasons” sticker near the crank case. (AP file photo: Drew Brees of New England passes against Green Bay in the 2002 AFC championship game.)
Most people can remember a favorite teacher -– the one who got you love a certain book or made science class exciting. But you may also remember that bad teacher -– the one who made your life miserable. And 
according to the studies, those teachers may have had just as big an impact on your education. In the last of our series on what makes a good teacher, correspondent Jessica Robinson went to find out how “bad” teachers are identified and discovered that there's no easy answer. About 25 soon-to-be first graders are clinging to their parents. The kids are about to start class at Ramsey Elementary in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. And the school just posted a list with something almost as exciting as entering the first grade: who their teacher is/Jessica Robinson, NW News Network. More here. (AP/Columbia Pictures photo, for illustrative purposes: Cameron Diaz is shown in a scene from “Bad Teacher.”)
Question: Can you describe a “bad teacher” who had a negative impact on your life?
Derek Deis & Robyn Nance debuted late this summer as the new KXLY morning anchor team. Derek had been the station's sports director. Of this photo, Derek's wife, Melissa Luck, wrote on the KXLY Facebook wall: “Derek's thinking: “Ooh! Being the news guy is cool!”
Question: What do you think Derek's thinking?
Today marks what would have been the 75th birthday of rock 'n' roll pioneer Buddy Holly. During his short time 
in the spotlight, the Texas singer and songwriter had 10 hits on the Billboard 100 chart. At the height of his fame, Holly was killed in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. He was just 22 years old. His musical influence can still be felt today, and Holly was among the first group of inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986/Elvis Presley official fan site. More here. And: more here. And: Buddy Holly on the Arthur Murray Dance Party 12/29/57 (YouTube) here.
Question: Do you still listen to Buddy Holly tunes?
The Idaho women’s diving team hit the pool with first-year diving coach Chelsea Oates last week and started its early-season training. Idaho returns three divers this season, sophomores Kelsi Potterf and Mairin Jameson, and junior Paige Hunt (pictured diving with Coach Oates looking on). Hunt was an NCAA Zone qualifier in the one-meter, three-meter and platform diving events, and also broke the Idaho school record in the one-meter and platform, while both Potterf and Jameson posted all-time top-10 dives in program history last year. More here. (Photo/story: Idaho Vandals media relations.)
Question: Are you a good diver?
The Team McEuen public presentations of their “McEuen MASTER” was shown with many wondrous amenities - things many of us would love to see. Just one problem … we aren't getting the things most people 
are expecting to see. We are not getting an upgraded park… we are getting a very expensive under street Parking Garage and mass phase I grading - which will reshape the entire area … forever. (Come to think of it …. we don't remember Parking facilities, boat launch removal, a maintenance shop for city vehicles as being part of the slideshow photos or questions on Team McEuen's survey…do you?) What happened to all of the actual park items? Those items are now on a separate “a la carte” list to be possibly completed “later” as the budget allows or as donations or corporate sponsors develop/Rita Sims-Snyder & Julie Clark, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here. (SR file photo: Kathy Plonka)
Question: What's wrong with increasing park space by building a multi-level garage on the north side of Front Street?
Michael Ormsbvy, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, stands outside the Thomas Foley Federal Courthouse this morning and answers media question pertaining to the plea deal by accused MLK bomber Kevin Harpham. (SR photo: Christopher Anderson)
Federal prosecutors have recommended a 32-year prison sentence for domestic terrorism suspect Kevin W. Harpham in a plea deal announced this morning in federal court. Harpham’s lawyers countered with a
proposed 27-year sentence under the deal struck with the Stevens County man that includes two counts for building and planting a backpack bomb along the route of Spokane’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Unity March in January. Two other counts are being dismissed. Harpham told U.S. District Court Judge Justin Quackenbush he spent a month building the bomb, which prosecutors described as a 6-inch steel pipe containing about 100 grams of black powder, designed to be ignited by a key fob. Harpham’s DNA was found on the backpack in which the bomb was found, prosecutors said/Spokesman-Review. More here.
Question: Is a 27- to 32-year sentence adequate for an individual who planned to kill and maim dozens of Inland Northwest residents?
Odds are heavily against it happening soon. Stars would plausibly all have to align perfectly to create a first ever in Idaho politics–the election of a woman as governor. Looking around the northwest, though, one 
quickly realizes odds are growing that a qualified female will someday lead even Idaho. Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Utah are neighboring northwest states that have had female chief executives. In Idaho, each party possesses at least one talented, intelligent, articulate, qualified female who, while they might have to be “drafted,” could plausibly run for and win the nomination of their party to be governor, as soon as 2014. On the Republican side the nominee could be veteran Sandpoint State Senator Shawn Keough. On the Democratic side the nominee could be freshman State Senator Michelle Stennett, from Ketchum/Chris Carlson, The Carlson Chronicles. More here.
Other Idaho columns:
Question: Would state Sen. Shawn Keough make a good governor?
It sure is strange to see Lewiston Tribune editorial writer Marty Trillhaase complain that the Idaho Freedom Foundation is not being aggressively free market enough. Is he serious? I doubt it, because Trillhaase and 
his newspaper aren't exactly champions of freedom and free markets. If Trillhaase and the Lewiston Tribune are complaining, odds are we're doing something right. But what's even more surprising is my friend Marty's contention, printed last week, that IFF has been silent about Gov. C. L. (Butch) Otter's plan to accept federal Obamacare money. Trillhaase says “you've not heard one word of protest” from IFF. Indeed, Trillhaase goes on to invoke the name of my mentor, Ralph Smeed, who died a year ago. Trillhaase says Smeed would have been more critical of our governor and that IFF isn't because my organization has been co-opted by a governor who supports our cause. Hogwash, hogwash and more hogwash/Wayne Hoffman, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Does the Idaho Freedom Foundation watch its friends as closely as it does its enemies?
Matthew Setliff (left), Nikki McConnell (center) and Daja Varnell mourn the loss of Jennifer Setliff, who was shot and killed Saturday in an apparent murder-suicide. John Stucke/SR tells of the nightmarish outcome of a one-sided love affair here. (SR photo: Colin Mulvany)
Duroc: Am I the only person suffering from “9/11 Anniversary Coverage” fatigue? I’m thinking I need to just
avoid all news (radio, newspaper, and internet — there’s no TV at La Casa Duroc) until about Sept. 15. I understand that remembrance is important, and I mean no disrespect to anyone. But 9/11 was bad enough the first time. I have no desire to relive that experience. Ever. I don’t need the unrelenting 24/7 news media to remind me how bad it was or what has happened since. So I’m going to turn on, drop in, and tune out (apologies to Dr. Leary).
Question: Are you fatigued by o/11 anniversary coverage, yet?
This image provided by Scibner shows the cover of the joint memoir of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, titled “Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope.” The book, written with “The Last Lecture” co-author Jeffrey Zaslow, is coming out on Nov. 15. (AP Photo/Scribner)
Question: Would you be interested in reading this book?
Item: Post Falls will allow chickens on smaller lots: Council also OKs law banning sale of e-cigs to minors/Brian Walker, Coeur d'Alene Press
More Info: Scratch part of Post Falls' animal law. As many as 10 chickens are now allowed on single-family lots of less than half an acre. The Post Falls City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved easing its ordinance for hens. The previous law stated that no chickens were allowed on such lots.
Question: I simply can't understand the new urban fascination with chickens. They cluck. They poop. They're dense as a box of rocks. And, oh yeah, they produce a few eggs for awhile. Are you considering running a flock of chickens on your 1/10th of an acre?
Item: Senior meals get a deal: Packed room demands changes to county budget/Alecia Warren, Press
More Info: After listening for hours at a public hearing where folks vehemently and sometimes tearfully pleaded to have cuts restored and raises increased, the Kootenai County commissioners voted to tweak one item in their proposed $74,127,159 budget for the next fiscal year. The commissioners agreed to restore the $13,000 they had been prepared to cut from the Lake City Center, which uses the dollars for its Meals on Wheels programs. Those dollars will be taken out of the county contingency fund.
Question: Is this a signal that the Kootenai County commissioners are listening to their public — and not just the Far Right wing of the local Republican Party?
Item: Coeur d’Alene City Council Signals Stronger Stand on Dike Road Trees/KEA Blog
More Info: In a procedure that will set up action at the next City Council meeting, Councilman John Bruning made a motion (seconded by Councilman Edinger) that would have the city formally opposing the Corps position, and would set up an ad hoc advisory committee to help the city fight the Corps and protect the trees. The motion passed unanimously setting up final action at the September 20th meeting. Councilman Bruning, reading from prepared remarks, said that the City needed to be clear in its opposition and needs to “draw a line in the sand and say no to a federal agency.”
Question: Is this a signal that the City Council was listening to the community?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
Mebbe Coeur d'Alene is becoming a bike town. Mrs. O & I encountered dozens of bikes riding in downtown Coeur d'Alene on Labor Day during one of our customary rides along the north shore. And elsewhere. We also encountered three individuals in vehicles who honked at us — two because they thought they deserved the road more than we did and a third who doesn't realize that in Idaho bicyclists can cross at a red light once they stop for it. First time I've been honked at in some time. Oh well, I'm back at Hucks HQ ready for another week of local politics and other foolishness. Here's your Wild Card …
First grader Payton Smith celebrated during the first day of school party at Ramsey Magnet School of Science in Coeur d'Alene today. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)
I was bitten by a dog yesterday. Writing those words seems so bland. Like I just said I was bitten by a mosquito. No, I was ravenously gnawed on by a large dog with a very strong jaw. Mechanic Man and I were 
doing our usual browsing through various yard sales. We routinely meet and greet the various dogs and cats who act like we have arrived solely to visit with them and give them our attention and pets. I look forward to these visits because we don’t have room for pets, and I crave the cuddling and warm fuzzy feel. But not this time. This time I was going back to the car – and the dog (on a chain inside the owner’s fenced yard) ran up to the fence, both paws on the fence, acting so much like all the other yard sale dogs – I thought in a friendly, “pet me!” attitude. I was wrong/JeanieS. More here. (AP file photo, for illustrative purposes)
Question: Have you ever been bitten by dog, cat, or other animal? When? Where? How badly did it hurt?
Idaho's bipartisan citizen redistricting commission Democratic members, from left, Julie Kane, Allen Andersen, and George Moses discuss a map of northern Idaho that demonstrates a compromise forged with the Republican commission members today at the Idaho Statehouse in Boise. Story below. (AP Photo/The Idaho Statesman, Joe Jaszewski)
Two-year-old Labrador Mara has shampoo on its head as she sits in Germany's first dog wash station in the dog Boutique 'Dog an der Koe' in Leipzig, Germany, on Tuesday. Dog owners can use the self serve dog wash with warm water, shampoo and a hair dryer for their dogs. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)
Top Cutlines:
Kootenai County Clerk Cliff Hayes announced today that voters who choose to mail their absentee ballots for 
the November 8 elections will get the postage paid on their returned ballots. “This is really cost-effective for voters. They will save gasoline and they will save time,” said Hayes. It’s also cost-effective for the County. Satellite voting at each of the taxing districts holding elections this fall could cost over $30,000 for two poll workers at each city hall & fire district office for two weeks. By contrast, envelopes & anticipated return postage costs for up to 10,000 voters could be about $5,500/Kootenai County Clerk's Office news release.
Question: Is this a good move on the clerk's part?
The hour has arrived, and Idaho's bipartisan citizen redistricting commission has missed its deadline to come up with new legislative and congressional district maps, forcing the issue into the courts. Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa said he's ready to sue first thing Wednesday morning, filing a writ of mandamus with the Idaho Supreme Court. “Papers are prepared,” he said. You can read my full story here at spokesman.com. Without new legislative and congressional district lines, Idaho has lines from 10 years ago that don't reflect the big population shifts since then - and therefore don't comply with the U.S. Constitution's one-person, one-vote rule. That means the state's current districts are unconstitutional; Ysursa said he expects the court to order the commission back to work/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Pecky Cox of As The Lake Churns blog is shown with actor-commenter Ben Stein at her recent 50th birthday party at Hill's Resort at Priest Lake.
Top Blog Post: We’ve always danced around the issue of how our children should address our adult friends. Of course I’d
prefer the kids use a formal title, like “Mrs. Rowling,” but at some point when we weren’t paying attention our friends’ kids started calling us by our first names. So I confused my kids by saying they should call certain adults by their first name because their kids do that to us. And, well, it’s all a big mess now, and the issue has been ignored rather than fixed. I could just insist on my kids always being polite and formal with everyone over the age of 18, but that might put them far out of step with society/Idaho Dad, A Family Runs Through It. More here.
Hucks Online numbers (for week of Aug. 28 to Sept. 3): 44,432 page-views/27,517 unique views
Question: How do/did your children address grownups?
Cynthia Sawyer got a surprise while playing her Idaho Lottery $100,000 Big Winner Scratch GameTM from Barney’s Harvest Food in Pinehurst last Saturday while shopping for her weekly groceries. “I scratched it as I went around the store doing my shopping,” confessed Sawyer, a life-long resident of the Silver Valley. “I thought I’d only won $100 and kept thinking, well, Barney’s is buying me groceries today. Then I stopped to clean up the ticket a bit before I got to check out. When I did, I kept scratching and I saw all the extra zeroes!” Sawyer, an insurance agent from Kingston, Idaho, became the $100,000 Big Winner’s biggest winner by winning the game’s top prize of $100,000. This was the game’s first top prize. One more is still available. More here.
Carson City Sheriff's deputies investigate the scene of the shooting at IHOP restaurant in Carson City, Nev., today. A gunman with a rifle opened fire at a International House of Pancakes restaurantkilling three people including two uniformed National Guard members and himself, and wounding six others in a hail of gunfire during the morning breakfast hour, authorities and witnesses said. Update: Five of the nine people shot by the gunmen were members of the Nevada National Guard. (AP Photo/The Reno Gazette Journal, Tim Dunn)
Question: I usually resist posted sad stories like this, of mad men going nuts and killing several people. I resisted much of this PM. There's too much sadness in this world. And I don't want Hucks Online to be a sad place. However, I decided to post this after the news that 5 of the victims were National Guardsmen. Did I make the right call? Or should I not post stories like this.
It looks like we're going to have contested races for all three Coeur d'Alene City Council seats. Adams Graves, the Downtown Association treasurer, just told Hucks Online that he's filing for incumbent Ron Edinger's council seat. Edinger plans to seek re-election. With filing deadline set for 5 p.m. Friday, other races shape up like this: Dan Gookin and George Sayler will vie for the seat now held by Councilman Al Hassell, who isn't seeking re-election. And incumbent John Bruning will square off with Reagan Republican board member Steve Adams and newcomer Amber Copeland.
The comment is enough to raise eyebrows: During a recent August recess swing through Twin Falls, Sen. Jim 
Risch compared the federal Environmental Protection Agency to the Gestapo. The Twin Falls Times-News mentioned the comment in passing in an Aug. 19 article. But Risch says he can't recall making the remark — and says he's asked his staff whether he said it. “I'm not going to deny it,” Risch said in a telephone interview today. “They were taking notes. I wasn't.” The “they,” of course, would be editors at The Times-News. I've asked Times-News editor Josh Awtry for his side of this one, and will update this blog when I get word/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Richert goes on to ask: Is there any context where it would be apt or appropriate for a U.S. senator to draw such an analogy?
It took a bit to sort out the data, but here's the effect on incumbents of L-71, the North Idaho compromise plan for legislative districts 1-7: Sens. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, and Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, would end up in the same district, forcing a face-off in the GOP primary if they both want to keep the seat. In the proposed new District 2, there would be three incumbent state representatives vying for two seats: Reps. Phil Hart, R-Athol; Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens; and Marge Chadderdon, R-Coeur d'Alene. In the proposed new District 5, there would be four incumbents vying for two House seats: Reps. Tom Trail, R-Moscow; Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow; Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries; and Shannon McMillan, R-Silverton/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise.
Question: Who would win a state Senate runoff between Shawn Keough and Joyce Broadsword?
Preliminary autopsy results are consistent with drowning in the case of a 5-year-old boy who was trapped underwater following an Aug. 28 car accident on Fernan Lake Road. The autopsy on Evan Deshazer did not reveal any internal injuries, said Lt. Stu Miller of the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office still is waiting for toxicology results, he said. Evan Deshazer’s sister, River, 1, and his parents, Sarah and Michael Deshazer, survived the accident in which the family’s Dodge Durango slid off Fernan Lake Road into the lake. The parents were able to escape, but both children were trapped underwater for about 15 minutes, authorities said/Alison Boggs, SR. More here.
Kellen Moore will appear on the new issue of Sports Illustrated that will hit newsstands tomorrow, according to the Idaho Press-Tribune & Idaho Statesman.
Sports Illustrated is going with two covers this week — and one features Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore. Click on the thumbnails for larger images. The national cover features LSU. Boise State's cover will be distributed throughout the West — to Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. The Boise State headline is, “It’s Go Time: Boise State is BCS Busting (Again).” Boise State also has a small headline on the LSU cover/Chadd Cripe, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Does the success of the Boise State Broncos football team affect the national perception of Idaho in a positive way?
Four Kootenai County men and a woman comprise go to the head of the class of people wanted on felony warrants by sheriff's Major Ben Wolfinger. They are: Joshua Lloyd Curran (upper right), 35, of Hayden, who is wanted on 2 counts of delivery of controlled substance ($50,000 bail); Steve Louis Ferry (upper center), 56, of Dalton Gardens, who is wanted for failure to appear for felony domestic battery 
and attempted stangulation ($50,000 bond); Stephanie Leanne Graven (upper right), 23, of Coeur d'Alene, who is wanted on probation violation for delivery of controlled substance ($40,000 bond); Christopher Michael Parks (lower left), 26, of Coeur d'Alene, who is wanted for probation violation for felony DUI (no bond); and Anthony Greagory Vela (lower right), 25, of Hayden, who is wanted on a grand theft charge ($10,000 bond). Misdemeanor warrants here.
Your child’s backpack is stocked with shiny folders, new pencils and blank paper full of potential. While some southern Idaho students have gone back to class, the majority will return Tuesday. As parents, you’ve made sure immunizations are current, clothes fit and your kid can find her classroom. But what about forging a relationship with the person with whom your student will spend the bulk of his days? Parent-teacher camaraderie isn’t just about hosting the class’s harvest party. It gives the educator tools to teach and gives parents insight, as well. 5 tips on how to build a relationship with your child's teachers here.
Question: Do you try to build a relationship with your child's teachers?
The Coeur d'Alene City Council will discuss a possible second dog park in Coeur d'Alene when it meets at 6 o'clock tonight. Discussions have been under way to install a second off leash dog park at Cherry Hill Park off 15th Street. The proposed site is approximately 3/4 of an acre just north of the tennis courts. The proposed dog park will be fully fenced with an entry bull pen, small dog section, benches, a pet drinking fountain, pet waste cans, and trees and shrubs among other things. Parking, rest rooms and a play ground are already in place at Cherry Hill. More from Kootenai County Dog Park Association here. H/T: Benjamin Jet Drake, via Facebook.
Question: Have you and your pet used the dog park on the edge of the North Shire subdivision, off Atlas, yet?
The sun sets over Shouse Arena at the Twin Falls County Fair in Filer on Saturday. (AP Photo/Times-News,Ashley Smith)
On her Facebook wall, Nicole Hensley offers this photo from KXLY viewer Andrew Hodge of a scene he saw this weekend at 3rd & Garden in Coeur d'Alene. Writes Nicole: “This hot weather brings nothing good for whoever this guy is…”
Question: How much do you think a good Coeur d'Alene man would be worth?
Linda Lantzy/Idaho Scenic Images snapped this shot of Devoto Cedar Grove on the Idaho side of Lolo Pass. She writes on her Facebook wall: “I left home at 4 am to try to beat the sun. Not early enough, but I like this one.”
Here's a look at the North Idaho legislative district map, L-71, submitted today by GOP Commissioner Lorna 
Finman of Rathdrum and Democratic Commissioner Julie Kane of Lapwai. It puts Boundary County and the majority of Bonner County, including the entire Clark Fork area, into District 1. District 2 contains the southernmost precincts of Bonner County plus northern parts of Kootenai County. “That's a very similar community of interest, kind of rural small-town area,” Finman said. District 3 contains the core of Coeur d'Alene, while District 4 has mostly Post Falls and the Rathdrum area. District 5 consists of Shoshone County and parts of Benewah, Kootenai and Latah counties, including the Moscow area, along with most of the Coeur d'Alene Reservation/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: What do you think of a District 5 that consists of Shoshone County and parts of Benewah, Kootenai and Latah counties, including the Moscow area, along with most of the Coeur d'Alene Reservation?
Oh my goodness
such a bummer –
here comes autumn
there goes summer!
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
On her Facebook wall, Amber Copeland posts: “I am going to file my paperwork tomorrow for city council. The real question is what should I wear? Sensible business attire or a mini skirt and tube top. Hahaha yeah right. Tube tops should be illegal after 25 … maybe that's a law I can look into creating at some point.
Question: What is proper attire for filing candidacy papers for City Council? And/or: Should tube tops be illegal for anyone who's 25 or older?
Mike Kennedy sent the following email to County Clerk Cliff Hayes and his assistant, Pat Raffee, this morning: 
“I’m not sure if you are both on vacation or not, but as the candidate filing window for this election year has begun, the interest in an answer to questions that I posed almost two weeks ago is increasing. I’ve received calls from elected officials on this email list asking me to press on to find the answers to these questions. These folks aren’t interested in confronting you publicly, as they expressed concerns about negative retribution from your office. I’m disappointed to hear that, but it’s apparently a fear shared by several. I suppose that I’ll “take one for the team” here and continue asking for information.” Questions listed below.
Reaction?
Mayor Cox Elorde of Bunawan township, Agusan del Sur Province, pretends to measure a huge crocodile which was captured by residents and crocodile farm staff along a creek in Bunawan late Saturday in southern Philippines. Elorde said Monday that dozens of villagers and experts ensnared the 21-foot (6.4-meter) male crocodile along a creek in his township after a three-week hunt. It was one of the largest crocodiles to be captured alive in the Philippines in recent years. (AP Photo)
PatrickH: The commissioners can cut funding for programs aimed at feeding seniors, and keeping kids out of 
trouble, but they have no problem with across the board increases at the County Clerk’s office, including 6k for furniture? Dan Green’s excuse when I called him was that Cliff Hayes writes the budget. So the commissioners work for Cliff Hayes? Green, Tondee, and Nelson should be ashamed of themselves. They either have priorities that are way out of whack, and consider fancy furniture more important then feeding needy seniors, or they are to cowardly and weak willed to stand up for what is right.
Question: Is this a fair argument by PatrickH — commissioners want to cut funding for Meals on Wheels while they increase salaries of their staff 17% and buy $6000 worth of furniture?
A pair of the new spring/sommer shoe collection are silhouetted while they are seen at a preview in Duesseldorf, Germany, Tuesday. The shoes will be on display at the international Shoe Fair (GDS) from Wednesday through Friday. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Question (for the Ladies of Hucks Online): Have you ever worn 6-inch heels? When? Why?
We still have most of a week to go before the lineup is more-or-less (not counting possible write-in 
candidates) set for the municipal elections for mayor and City Council positions this fall. Upon reading that one of the candidates would be Adam Graves, a parking commissioner and Downtown Association treasurer, CoeurGenX wrote: “he has my vote.. great guy.. bout time we push the old timers ( & past unsuccessful candidates) to the curb!” Another intriguing candidate is Amber Copeland, a single mother struggling to make it who has a different perspective on the needs in this community. Incumbents Ron Edinger and John Bruning are planning to run again, as are challengers from the 2009 elections: Steve Adams & Dan Gookin.
Question: Is it time for new blood? Or does the old blood provide an institutional memory that's more valuable?
Government subsidizes everything from the water you drink to the car you drive. Why should mail delivery to the nation's rural outposts be the one exception? The U.S. Postal Service is running $8.3 billion short. What had 
been a branch of the U.S. government became self-sufficient in 1970. To balance the books, it might drop Saturday deliveries, start competing in the direct advertising market, raise stamp prices and shut down 3,700 offices and branches. In Idaho, 23 sites are in the bull's-eye, including Ahsahka, Harvard, the University of Idaho and Tensed. Sure, some of this red ink stems from a faltering business model. The post pffice sells stamps to people who increasingly communicate through email, pay bills electronically and engage in ecommerce. It also competes with private companies for business deliveries. But a lot of it is artificial/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Other Inland NW opinion:
Question: Should the U.S. government subsidize the U.S. Postal Service to keep the current level of service?
Re: Cyberspace loose with facts or flat out lying about Jeremy Hill grizzly case coverage/Rich Landers, Outdoors
Wayne Hoffman: Wow, step away from the computer for a few days and you miss a lot. Mr. Landers is correct that I erred when I wrote my column last week. I wrote that Landers said “federal law lets people shoot wolves 
that are threatening people, but not so with grizzlies.” Clearly I meant to say “federal law lets people shoot wolves that are threatening livestock, but not so with grizzlies.” Beyond that, my point remains the same. Landers wrote a column that more than takes the side of the feds and the grizzlies, and, by my reading of his words, his “down the middle” commentary seems to lean toward the federal government. Having said that, I’ve corrected my error. Mr. Landers, I’m sure, has, from time to time written things that were not true and had to correct them, not because he is a bad person, but because he typed too quickly, didn’t get enough sleep, was distracted, or for other honest reasons. The same is true for me. I made a mistake. I have corrected it. More below.
Reaction?
The wheels might be coming off mobile meal-delivery programs in Kootenai County. According to a letter from the Kootenai County commissioners dated Aug. 31 to the county's senior centers, funding that supports Meals on Wheels programs is about to end. “Annual community support to Senior Centers in Kootenai County has been cut from the proposed budget for fiscal year 2011-2012,” says the letter, which also invites the centers to the county's final public hearing on its budget Tuesday at 6 p.m. “We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and urge you to request support from the city you are located in. The cities do not have the same unfunded mandates that the state imposes on the county”/Mike Patrick, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.
Question: Are county commissioners being pennywise/pound foolish? Or are they doing the right thing by getting the county out of subsidizing activities beyond its mandated services?
Jerre Lewis plays with her son, Maddex, after picking him up from day care Aug. 30. With help from Family Promise, she has been able to turn her living situation around and have a stable home for her family. Now, Family Promise, the only homeless program in North Idaho capable of keeping homeless families to gether in a shelter, has its own needs. More here. (SR photo: Christopher Anderson)
Law enforcement is being hampered in Indian Country by what federal authorities describe as jurisdictional gaps. So they’re working with three Idaho tribes, including the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, to federalize 
tribal police, giving officers the authority to issue citations to non-Indians on the reservation for some minor offenses - with the backing of federal courts. Once the lengthy process is completed – likely in time for next summer’s boating season – non-tribal members who violate boating laws on the southern third of Lake Coeur d’Alene could be issued federal citations by tribal officers. The southern third of the lake belongs to the tribe; the U.S. Supreme Court decided that in 2001/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here. (SR photo/Colin Mulvany: Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police Officer John Dressler hands Renae Stentz the paperwork after her boat passed a safety inspection on Aug. 26 at Mowry State Park on Lake Coeur d’Alene.)
Question: Do you support federalization of tribal police on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation?
Coeur d’Alene isn’t the only community miffed at the loopy demand by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clear-cut viewtiful trees from flood prevention levees. Sacramento, Calif., is, too. The corps, as you may 
recall, freaked out after Hurricane Katrina, ordering communities to remove trees and vegetation from levees (like the ponderosas on Coeur d’Alene’s waterfront dike road), claiming the vegetation destabilizes them. Cash-strapped California communities and flood agencies could spend millions of dollars removing trees and shoring up levees to meet the corps’ inflexible demand. In an editorial urging the corps to revise its levee policy, the Sacramento Bee pointed to a study conducted by the agency that shows some levees are strengthened, not weakened, by trees. The Bee concludes that corps muckety-mucks should heed the findings of their own study and “develop a more flexible, case-by-case policy for levee maintenance nationwide.” Bingo/DFO, Huckleberries. More here.
Weekend SR columns:
SR Editorial: Scouts need to put future first as Camp Easton choice made
DeePee: To quote from an S-R editorial on Sept. 4, re the Gozzard Gated crowd’s desire to acquire Camp Easton from the Boy Scouts: “Weighing complex transaction details, a sandy beach and tradition against the 
chance for new, expanded facilities in a new setting is a daunting task. Ultimately, it’s the Scouts of the future who should come first.” Boy, talking about coming out four-square for parsley. Camp Easton was a gift from the Silver Valley, from long-time Bunker Hill honcho Stanly Easton. (1873-1961). Tradition must trump commercialism in this case. If the camp needs fixing up (according to the S-R editorial) then give us time to raise the money and recruit some Scouts to help with the labor. It’s not Scouting’s rustic tradition that has become obsolete; it is this gang of thugs running it now out of San Francisco, Spokane and Lewiston. Stan Easton and Hank Day must be spinning in their graves. Don’t mess with the Silver Valley. (SR file photo/Jesse Tinsley: of Camp Easton activity)
Question: How much should history play in the decision by Boy Scout leaders to keep or sell Camp Easton?
Can you imagine a world where the Kootenai County commissioners would make a stealth move to grab private property rights? A world where the handmaidens of the New World Order are the GOP trio of Dan Green, Jai 
Nelson and Todd Tondee? Where any day now, you’ll be prevented from doing whatever you want on your own property by an out-of-town design firm carrying water for the United Nations? No? You can’t? I guess that’s how you know you live in the real world. Lucky you. Because a lot of people live in a scary, sinister place. A place where freedom-loving Americans are “under attack” by the forces of “consensus” and “collaboration” and other “Communitarian” influences. A place where individual freedoms are being consumed by community rights. A place where the will of the people is a sham, and nameless, faceless outside forces are working constantly to mislead and manipulate you into believing otherwise/Shawn Vestal, SR. More here.
Question: Do you believe “they” are coming to get you — whoever “they” are?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
The weather appears to be cooperating for our final summer fling before school starts this Labor Day weekend. I'll be off until Tuesday. But I'll keep an eye on this space. You'll probably see me at the waterfront sometime during the next three days. I have some family plans, too. Mebbe attend that Spokane Symphony in Liberty Lake or Spokane Saturday or Monday. Do some bike riding. In other words, I'm going to relax. I hope you do, too. I've been enjoying the startup of the local political season. We'll know the lineups by next Friday. Now for your Wild Card …
A 21-year-old Post Falls woman was killed in a one-car rollover that occurred at 1:01 a.m. this morning, according to the Idaho State Police. Brittany Chapman was eastbound in her 2002 Mazda Protege on I-90 near the 4th Street exit in Coeur d'Alene when she lost control of her vehicle. The vehicle left the roadway and overturned at milepost 12.5. She wasn't wearing a seatbelt. She was pronounced dead at Kootenai Medical Center. The Idaho State Police are investigating the cause of the accident.
A Great-tailed Grackle seems to be waiting for water from a drinking fountain outside a shopping center along the 5500 block of Memorial Dr. near Westcott St., Friday in Houston. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Melissa Phillip)
“My campaign is centered around social issues because I feel that people should be the center of any political
endeavor. Our government is supposed to be a representation of it's citizens not a representation of elected officials and their personal interests. I will not take the “I know what's best for you whether you like it or not” stance. I will fight to be a reflection of what it is that the people of my community see as best” — Amber Copeland, candidate for Coeur d'Alene City Council. Amber's Web site here.
Question: Is Amber being idealistic or refreshing?
In Nampa Friday, the College of Idaho introduced a new mascot and logo for their Coyote sports teams. “For years, we have been all over the place when it comes to a Yote logo,” said athletic director Marty Holly. “The new logo is one that our athletic brand can really build on. Mascots are supposed to be fun, and this one is a home run.” You can read more about the new sports brand here. More photos by Charlie Litchfield/Idaho Press Tribune here.
Question: Who has the best mascot among Idaho colleges, including community colleges? Please defend your answer.
Herb Huseland: I sigh every time I see references to the Reagan Republicans. I knew Ronnie back in the ‘60’s 
when he was running for Governor the first time. He really wasn’t as conservative as the present day RR’s. In short, he was a consensus builder. He could sit in the white house with fellow Irishman, Tip O’Neil, drinking Jamison’s together.They found a way to get things done in spite of their differences. The same applied to Reagan and Jesse Unruh in California State government. I think most of you can figure out what is different about the RR’s of today and the real deal.
Question: Would Ronald Reagan fit into today's Idaho Republican Party?
Dennis: Stickman, I respect the fact that you are a vegetarian. I would hope you respect my right to be a carnivore. The meat I harvest is sustenance for my family. There’s a reason I choose to harvest my own meat. 
It’s safer than anything that can be purchased in stores and is much more healthy for much of the reasons you suggest taking my kids to a slaughter house. My kids known full well were their dinner comes from because in a lot of cases they were the ones that provided it. When I married my wife, she was a vegetarian. After she researched the benefits of a healthy diet that include lean meats like venison and elk, she started to partake. She won’t eat store bought meats but she has no problem sitting down to a fine grilled elk steak dinner.
Question: Have you ever tried to be a vegetarian?
lovetohateme: Am I the only one who would never consider putting a bumper sticker on my car, no matter how funny I found it nor how much I believed in a cause? I always just assume that perhaps I’d like to sell the car someday to someone who might not want to have my opinions plastered all over it.
Question: I've never put a bumpersticker on my vehicle either (although I have a San Francisco Giants license plate holder). Anyone else?
In the Lewiston Tribune this morning, Marty Trillhaase rips the UI and Moscow police for responding so slowly to 
the murder and later suicide committed by assistant psychology professor Ernesto Bustamante: “Anywhere else in post-9/11 America, the police would have taken at most an hour to round up the rudimentary facts before disclosing the threat to ordinary citizens. By 10 p.m., newspaper Internet sites, radio and television would have displayed Bustamante's picture or description. He would have been deemed armed, dangerous and a person to avoid. The rental car would have been identified. Immediately, people would go inside and lock their doors. They might also help provide leads for law enforcement to track down the suspect. Not in Moscow. More here.
Question: Is Marty playing Monday morning quarterback in his editorial? Or does he have a legitimate point that Moscow reacted poorly to significant danger four years after Jason Hamilton went on a killing spree in the town?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
It'll be interesting to see if Ron McIntire steps down as mayor of Hayden, now that two sitting council members have announced their plans to run for his job. I'd guess Ron's said something to someone to encourage the incumbents to seek his spot. That's the way things work. We'll have to wait until next Friday to see how the various races line up. Coeur d'Alene has a couple of relative unknowns who are making noise about challenging for council seats. This is a fun time of the year. Now for your Wild Card …
Kerri Thoreson posted this photo of former two-term Coeur d'Alene mayor Ray Stone on my Facebook wall. She interviewed Stone this morning, on his 88th birthday. Said Kerri: “He's still outspoken and passionate about his community.” I should look through my old Kootenai Grapevine columns to provide stories here of the battles Stone and I used to have. He'd say something. I'd put it in my column. It'd cause a community uproar. Then, he'd call and cuss me out. Wonderful times. I'm glad he's still truckin'.
When Chaz Bono takes to the floor on American television's “Dancing with the Stars” later this month, he won't 
be lacking for fans — or detractors. The 42-year-old LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) activist formerly known as Chastity Bono is the first transgender contestant on the US version of the globally popular reality television series. He's the only child of entertainers Cher and the late Sonny Bono, and his debut on prime-time television comes hard on the heels of the release of his autobiography “Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man”. … But not everyone is caring to hear that message. “This is completely unacceptable and Christians should not watch the show, no excuses!” exclaimed the American Family Association through its onemillionmoms.com website/Robert MacPherson, AFP. More here.
Question: Are you interested in seeing transgender Chaz Bono dance with the stars?
Daniel Ehrlick enters 4th District Court Friday in Boise. Erhlick was sentenced Friday to life in prison for torturing his girlfriend's 8-year-old son, then killing him and trying to cover up the murder by stuffing rocks in the boy's pockets and dumping the body in a canal. Story below. (AP Photo/Statesman, Darin Oswald)
Commissioners have notified the four Kootenai County senior centers — Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, & Rathdrum — that they are cutting funding for them in the 2011-12 budget. Executive Allison McArthur said the 
cut will mean the loss of the $2500 from the county for home-delivered meals for her Post Falls center. Combined, the four centers supplied 20,750 meals to home-bound seniors in 2010. The Post Falls center has already provided more than 5,000 in her area this year. Allison said her center and the one in Coeur d'Alene each receive $2500 from the county while the other two centers get $1800. She said that might not seem like much. But it can mean the difference between having home-delivered meals or not. The commissioners invited the senior centers to a public hearing on the budget at 6 p.m. Tuesday. You can read the commissioners letter to the senior centers here.
Question: Are the county commissioners being pennywise and pound foolish again?
Adam Graves, age 37, today announces his candidacy for Coeur d’Alene City Council. “I am running for Coeur 
d'Alene City Council because I have lived here my whole life, and I love this city. I'm running because I want to be a part of continuing the momentum that promotes a great quality of life and amenities for our businesses, residents and visitors. I want to help find ways to create the most confident, productive and thriving business community and most importantly the quality of life for our citizens. I am running to be part of a positive future for Coeur d'Alene.” … Adam’s platform is a new style of thinking. He believes in the blend of human and environmental rights with conservative financial / taxing practices. He leans towards frugality, yet he understands that smart investments create positive returns. More here. And: Adam's Web site here.
Question: Adam hasn't decided which seat he'll seek yet. Which one would you suggest?
One jab through the spinal cord and then a quick slash across the throat. Neon pink blood sprays fast and hard from the sheep’s throat, soaking the bottom of Jeff Wilke’s bright yellow rain slickers and rubber boots. 
The sheep kicks up a cloud of dust and gurgles for about a minute until it dies. Wilke kneels with one leg on its chest until the end. Then he cuts off its head. Wilke, 44, and his father, Ken Wilke, 66, own and operate a mobile slaughter truck and packing company called Quadra-K-Meats. Every Monday, the duo travel from farm to farm and slaughter livestock — cows, pigs, sheep, goats and the occasional llama or buffalo — and then take the carcasses back to the shop in their refrigerated slaughterhouse-on-wheels for further processing. Today, at the farm of Andrew Pille, near Medical Lake, Wash., they’ve slaughtered four sheep. And it’s only 9:30 am/Jordy Byrd, Inlander. More here. (Inlander photo: Young Kwak)
Question: Have you seen an animal butchered for meat?
US Postal Service mailboxes are seen awaiting disposal Thursday in San Jose, Calif. Because of steeply declining use, the U.S. Postal Service has removed more than 60 percent of the blue boxes, the chief culprit is the Internet. More people are paying bills, sending invitations and writing personal letters online. The volume of mail dropped into mailboxes has dropped 35 percent since 2006, said Sue Brennan, a U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Question: When did you last write a letter that you snail-mailed to someone?
I was debating w/Jeff Ward re: how extreme the Reagan Republicans are. Ward, prez of said group, contends that some Repubicans are very conservative in Kootenai County. And his organization reflects that (although 
he doesn't consider the RR's to be extremist). He offers a good point. But the board of directors provided by a Berry Picker lists Mary Souza & Gary Ingram of OpenCDA infamy, Larry Spencer (pictured), and Steve Adams, who are Hard Right conservatives known for anti-urban renewal positions. Dan Gookin's a director, too. So is Bob Nonini, the increasingly conservative representative from Post Falls who played a major roll in forcing through Tom Luna's so-called education reform despite overwhelming opposition. I don't know much about the rest of the board. You can see the complete board here.
Here's further proof that it's nearly impossible to please Mary Souza of OpenCDA.com. In a response to another comment under a Coeur d'Alene Press thread about George Sayler's candidacy for City Council, Mary takes George to task for voting as a legislator in favor of urban renewal — you know, the engine that has helped build 
the Kroc Center, library, Riverstone, Education Corridor, Prairie Trail, and other progessive projects. Worse yet, George has attended fund-raising events at thehomes of the Charlie Nipp/Steve Meyer families — you know, the guys who developed the Ironwood Medical District and even brought us Millie & Mudgy (via Charlies wife). Now Mary's poohpoohing the idea that George would provide a second to Ron Edinger's motion for a public vote on McEuen Field. Harrumphs Mary: “But please be advised that a second is not the same as publicly standing firm against the removal of the perfectly functional boat launch and the historic, memorable American Legion ball field. Will George stand with the Friends of McEuen? … he hasn't said. I seriously doubt it.” More here (6:43 p.m. Thursday item).
Question: Do you believe George Sayler would second a motion for a public vote on McEuen Field, if he sez he will?
Artist Herb Williams, of Nashville, Tenn., poses with his Guinness World Record-breaking mosaic, a portrait of “Mr. Jack” made from over 2000 empty Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey bottles, during an event celebrating the brand's 161st birthday at South Street Seaport on Thursday in New York. Jack Daniel's celebrated it's 161st birthday by breaking 6 Guinness World Records during the event. (AP Photo/Jack Daniel's, Jason DeCrow)
Question: What is your favorite hard liquor drink?
… @ 4th & Appleway moments ago, driven by redneck in red pickup w/a camper and Kootenai County plates: “Gun control is using two hands” and “(photo of wolf in cross-hairs) Smoke a pack a day.”
Without mentioning the Ernesto Bustamante/Katy Benoit murder suicide, University of Idaho prez Duane Nellis 
issued this statement today: “I just wanted to let you know that we’re finalizing details for the independent review panel as I directed last week. This panel will review our safety and security policies and procedures. We’ve identified a group of experts in the areas of higher education, student affairs, campus security and legal affairs who we believe will provide valuable insight and analysis. Upon acceptance by all panel members, their names will be announced.” More here.
Question: Can the University of Idaho campus be made much safer than it already is?
On Wednesday morning, I got a glimpse into the making of a grand jury — an entity that performs its public service out of the view of the public or the media. I was on jury duty this week, which helps explain why 
blogging was slow this week, and I landed in the pool to fill spots on two grand juries. It isn’t a fun job: listening to prosecutors present their cases for indictments on complicated white-collar crimes, drug cases or sex abuse and domestic violence cases. It’s a considerable time commitment: grand juries meet one morning every other week, for six months. Juror pay isn’t exactly lavish: $5 for a half day’s work, although grand jurors do get lunch if their workday runs long. I didn’t make the cut. All in all, I was glad to be unwanted/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Have you served on a grand jury?
A man arrested after Spokane police found a suspected methamphetamine lab was said to be collecting his 
urine to use in the manufacturing of the drug. Washington Department of Corrections probation officer Scott Wright tipped police to the suspected lab Wednesday at a home Michael Ward Baker, 54, shares with his elderly mother in the 4500 block of North Hawthorne Street, according to a search warrant. Wright said neighbors complained about dug activity in the home and another witness said Baker collects his urine “to be recycled for use in manufacturing methamphetamine,” according to the warrant/Meghann Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels. More here.
Question: Do you need any other evidence that meth kills brain cells?
This undated photo shows a sign on the Grand Canyon's Bright Angel Trail warning people not to hike to the Colorado River and back in one day. Federal authorities charged Christopher Carlson, of Indianapolis, who remained in jail on Thursday on six counts of child abuse after he forced his three young grandsons to hike 18 miles in triple-digit heat at the Grand Canyon and denied them food and water, authorities said. The boys, ages 12, 9 and 8, told investigators that they had been hit, pushed, choked, pinched and squeezed during trips on a popular trail at the canyon's South Rim last month. (AP Photo/Felicia Fonseca)
Question: Have you hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon & back? Can you tell us about your adventure?
I'm not sure who Amber Copeland is. But OrangeTV posted a link to her new Facebook page: “Amber Copeland for Coeur d'Alene City Council.” I appreciate her introduction to us on her site: “I am not a business 
owner. I am not on any commitees or a member of any organizations. I am not wealthy. I am not married or well connected. I am a single parent. I struggle to make ends meet. I want the best for my family and neighbors. I want the best for my community. I am a majority of the population. I am a representation of who the decisions made by city council affect. It is time for someone like me to be a part of those decisions. It is time to elect a citizen to city council who has been in the trenches, who knows what it is to drown. That is the kind of person who has learned what it takes to swim and I am that person.” She was born on Halloween, and she (hearts) Ayn Rand's “Fountainhead.” You can find much more info about her here. She's running for Seat No. 5 (now held by Councilman John Bruning).
Question: Can a City Council candidate effectively use social media in a campaign?
The question posed on Huckleberries Blog was on whether the Reagan Republicans are unstoppable. This is, on its face, quite silly. Of course we are stoppable. Nothing is “unstoppable” in politics. Since we began in 
the summer of 2009 the majority of what has been written about our group online and in the press has been the creations of someone’s flight of fancy. Our group is neither invincible nor despicable. We are not some irresistible juggernaut. From liberal blogs you would think we were some kind network of Bond villains plotting world domination. We are just a volunteer group concerned about the future of our community, state and nation. The only difference between the Reagan Republicans and other community organizations is that we see politics a mechanism for making things better/Jeff Ward, Reagan Republican president. More here.
DFO: I have another observation re: the Reagan Republicans. Jeff Ward and Ron Lahr, I believe, are both Post Falls residents. Yet, they are actively involved in inserting partisan politics in nonpartisan city races in Coeur d'Alene. What's up with Post Falls residents trying to influence Coeur d'Alene politics?
A Hindu devotee offers milk to a snake as part of a ritual on Naag Panchami festival in Jammu, India, Friday. The Hindu festival of Naag Panchami is a day dedicated to snake worship. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
Silver barbells, rhinestone studs and surgical steel hoops line the piercing case in Swan Family Ink tattoo 
parlor, defining the way Jesse Coahran spends his afternoons. When school is in session Swan does 10 to 15 piercings per week. He said piercings are popular and isn’t limited to a specific personality or lifestyle.
Coahran said his most popular piercings are in the lip and ears, but he does piercings in various parts of the body. “Everyone gets different stuff,” Coahran said. “College students will come in and they’ll all get something done together, like something in their ear. But it could be a lip, could be a nose. I do a lot of nose piercings, too”/Melissa Flores, RAWR, UI Argonaut. More here. (Argonaut/RAWR photo: Kendall Elliott)
Question: Do or any member of your family have any piercings?
PatrickH: We shop at the WalMart by Cabela’s and I get my prescriptions there because they can get my 
scripts faster then any of the other pharmacies around (my prescriptions are not typically stocked) and they don’t give me a hard time about the fact that many of my scripts are from a Seattle doctor, which is the opposite of several of the local small pharmacies who would not even accept my scripts because of the fact they where written by a Seattle doctor. Having said that I avoid the Mullan and Hayden stores like the plague and do most of my grocery shopping at Trading Co, Main Market, and Huckleberry’s.
Question: Where do you get your prescription drugs? Why do you prefer that place?
On his Facebook wall, OrangeTV/Get Out! North Idaho is promoting an event at Mik's, dubbed “Dare To Win A Pair.” That's right. The Fourth Street bar is sponsoring a contest in which the winner will be awarded a $6000 breast enhancement. Sez the announcement: “Ladies … you need to arrive and sign up between 8-9 (tonight). Sign-up's will end exactly at 9pm. DJ KOWAX will be mixing all the 90's hits all through the night and Mik's is lowering their prices to $3.00 you call it's from 8pm til 11pm.” Seems the radio station is sponsoring the 10-week contest, which has been packing 'em in on Thursdays. If a guy wins, he has a choice of taking $2500 in cash.
Question: Is this a contest that you would be interested in?
Volunteers Todd Wallker, left, Christy Latta, Chris Hardy and Adrienne Cronebaugh dress a floating mat in grasses, sedges, reeds and other vegetation to produce a “floating wetland” Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011 near Hayden Lake. The floating island of vegetation will soak up excess nutrients in this farm pond near Hayden Lake as a proof-of-concept project which Kootenai Environmental Alliance organizers hope will encourage waterfront homeowners to build their own on the shores of Hayden Lake, which has become more turbid and murky over the years. Story here. (SR photo: Jesse Tinsley)
I'm trying to read between the lines today re: Twitter news from Dustin Hurst that Brad Iverson-Long (pictured) and the 
Idaho Reporter have parted ways. Hurst doesn't spell out what is meant by “parted ways.” Did Brad tell Wayne Hoffman to take the job and shove it. Or did Wayne hand Brad his walking papers. Inquiring minds want to know. Hurst follows up with these tweets: “I am so sad to see Brad leave the team. He and I started this thing together and he taught me so much about journalism.” And: “He is one of the best writers I have ever read and I know I could never match his skill level. I wish him well in his future endeavors.”
Question: Can anyone read between the lines on this one?
JEERS … to Idaho Senate Education Committee Chairman John Goedde, R-Coeur d'Alene. He doesn't think much of teachers who criticized state school Superintendent Tom Luna's plan to divert tax dollars from the 
classroom into online instruction. The State Board of Education will decide how many online classes students will be required to take. A subcommittee has recommended two courses. Goedde serves on that panel. Most of the testimony that committee heard was negative, but that's because only teachers testified - and what do they know? Goedde said. “I was there for the Coeur d'Alene testimony, and without exception, every person that testified was either an educator or a former educator,” Goedde said. “And I think that is just consistent with their insistence that education reform is a bad thing.” Would Geodde support health care reform opposed by 98 percent of the nation's doctors?/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Other Idaho Opinion:
Question: Does Goedde deserve Marty's jeers?
Along with his body, police found Ernesto Bustamante’s Moscow hotel room filled with guns, bullets and pills. There were drugs to ward off depression, to take care of bipolar disorder and epilepsy, to treat anxiety, to help 
him sleep. It’s unknown if any of these prescriptions were in Bustamante’s system hours before, when, on Aug. 22, police believe he shot and killed Katy Benoit, a recent University of Idaho graduate with whom he had had a romantic relationship. What is known in the wake of the former UI assistant professor of psychology’s apparent suicide the next day is that the incident represents a worstcase scenario in a state that has slashed mental health funding to nationally low levels/Chris Stein, Inlander. More here.
Question: Is it right to use the murder-suicide involving Ernesto Bustamante and Katy Benoit as an indictment of Idaho's poor funding of mental health?
Marge Chadderdon at the Women Republicans meeting at the Resort’s Shore Lounge Thursday. She is visiting with U. S. Senator Mike Crapo. Marge, the state representative from Coeur d'Alene, missed the 2011 Idaho legislative session due to illness. She's doing much better now. Both Crapo and Chadderdon are cancer survivors.
A group of high school graduates who are eyeing to join the military may be at a disadvantage all because of the type of diploma they receive. Lyndsey Anderson is desperately trying to enlist in The Marines. “Both my brothers are in. My dad's served, my mom's a military wife and I will be the only girl on my dad's side to join the military,” Anderson said. Anderson graduated from iSucceed Virtual High School in June and that's when her lifelong path hit a major roadblock. When she attempted to enlist in the Armed Forces, recruiters said the online degree wouldn't cut it. In order to keep her dream alive, Lyndsey enrolled at Boise's Capital High this fall semester to get a traditional high school diploma this coming JanuaryEric Fink, KIVI. More here.
Question: Should the military change its policy toward online education to keep up with the diverse and fluid classroom setting of today?
State Sen. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d'Alene, hobnobs with U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo after Crapo speech to Kootenai County Republican Women Thursday. Sims, owner of Coeur d'Alene Honda, is known for her opposition to the Lake City Development Corp. When last we saw her in public, she was denouncing Mayor Sandi Bloem and the Coeur d'Alene City Council for imagined conflicts of interest on proposed McEuen Field changes. She was proven wrong. Crapo, meanwhile, is a member of the “Gang of 6” which is trying to resolve our nation's debt crisis. Crapo discussed his work at a townhall meeting at North Idaho College. Story here.
Question: What do you think Crapo and Sims were discussing?
However, when you start taking shots at people like Charlie Nipp (pictured), you are taking shots at his company and his partner. The truth is that those folks have been, directly and indirectly, responsible for putting literally 
thousands of people to work in CdA and food on their tables. Tables of middle class born and raised Kootenai County citizens. The people taking fire are fine businessmen and visionaries who deserve more respect. I’m not asking that they not be asked hard questions, I’m simply saying that as a conservative, I have no axe to grind for people making a successes of themselves and it’s tough to many of your board member’s stances when most of their blog entries consist of comments that include “greedy developers”, “fatcats, etc./JimmyMAC. More below.
Question: Why do individuals like Charlie Nipp and Steve Meyer, who have meant much to the progressive development of this community, receive criticism from individuals who support business?
Say, any way that mass exodus from the Western Athletic Conference can be accelerated? Like maybe starting 
this week? Subtraction in the ranks may be the only way the Idaho Vandals achieve any addition in the win column this fall. OK, one game does not a college football season make, so rather than suggest it’s going to be a long year for the Vandals let’s just say Thursday was a long night. Or a short one – all intrigue having been sucked out of their season opener before the second quarter was half gone. Bad timing on letting all the sunshine in through the Kibbie Dome’s end walls. This one deserved to be played in the shadows/John Blanchette, SR. More here. (Complete game story, boxscore coverage here)
Question: Will the Vandals bounce back?
Item: Commissioners defend raises: County elected officials' letter questioned pay hikes of 7 to 17 percent/Alecia Warren, CdA Press
More Info: Despite criticism from other Kootenai County elected officials, the county commissioners say they are justified in some recent employee raises. “I was disappointed, because they misstated some facts,” said Commissioner Dan Green. Pay increases the commissioners gave to four of their department employees this year were questioned in a May memo signed by county elected officials, including the treasurer, assessor, coroner, clerk, sheriff and prosecutor.
Question: Are the county commissioners being hypocritical in giving raises to their own staff when they've cut positions elsewhere?
Nick Anderson/Houston Chronicle
Idaho quarterback Brian Reader is pressured by the Bowling Green defense into throwing an interception during the first half of their game at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow tonight. Bowling Green jumped out to a 30-7 halftime lead over the Vandals in their season opener. Bowling Green avenged its 2009 Humanitarian Bowl defeat by stopping host Idaho 32-15. See boxscore here And: Bruce Mann's first-half photo gallery here.
It wasn’t supposed to go this way. Not in the first game in the spiffed-up Kibbie Dome. Not after Idaho football coach Robb Akey declared his team ready for another march to the postseason. The Vandals, appearing ill-prepared for the start of the season, were steamrolled by Bowling Green 32-15 on the opening night of the college football season. In front of an announced crowd of 12,173 – the actual number looked smaller – the Vandals roared to a touchdown and defensive stop on the first two possessions Thursday night … then collapsed/Josh Wright, SR. More here.
Thoughts on the game?
Kerri Thoreson tells Hucks Online that she'll be interviewing former Coeur d'Alene mayor Ray Stone on her KVNI show at 8 o'clock Friday morning, on his 88th birthday. I had some fun at Stone's expense back in the mid- to late 1980s. Some of you oldtimers know that I called him “Mayor for Life.” One of my favorite stories about him involved the time that he accidentally commented into an open mike before a council meeting that the “biggest jerk in town” had just come into council chambers. Can any of you remember who he was talking about? Now to replay your Wild Card …
A body boarder takes a spill after riding a big wave at the Wedge in Newport Beach, Calif. on Thursday. High tide and a winter storm off New Zealand are combining to bring high waves to the Southern California coast. The National Weather Service said waves of 8 feet to 11 feet or more could hit beaches from San Luis Obispo to San Diego counties through the afternoon and peak Thursday night or early Friday. (AP Photo/Orange County Register, Mark Rightmire)
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office has located the body of Riley Odwyer, 24, of Coeur d'Alene, fell from a boat into Lake Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday night. The KCSD’s SONAR Team spent about three hours searching for the body. He was located in 130 feet of water, between Carlin Bay and Crescent Bay. The KCSD Dive/Rescue Team successfully recovered the body at 3 p.m. The body will be sent to the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.
At Huckleberries request, SR Editor Gary Graham (pictured) issued this statement re: 12 veteran newsroom staffers who opted to take an early retirement buyout recently: “It's no secret that we're losing 12 veteran, full-time 
journalists by the end of the year through an early retirement offer. Those who are leaving have played important roles in our journalism for many years and they will be greatly missed as colleagues and friends. The early retirement offer was only extended to employees who were at least 55 years old and had at least 20 years of service with the company. Those leaving include Steve Bergum, Rick Bonino, Jeff Jordan, Vince Grippi, Dave Trimmer, John Blanchette, John Craig, Kevin Graman, Bart Rayniak, Chris Anderson, Gil Hulse and Jim Kershner. I also want to note that some of the familiar names listed here will continue to write for us on a freelance basis.” More below.
Jerome County Sheriff Doug McFall is shown at Joslin Field, Magic Valley Regional Airport in Twin Falls. McFall is an avid BASE jumper and skydiver, having taken up the hobby while serving as an Army MP at Fort Campbell in Kentucky in the late 1970s. Since then, he's made 37 skydives and 17 BASE jumps. Story here. (AP Photo/The Times-News, Ashley Smith)
Irina Falconi, of the United States, leaps in the air after beating Dominka Cibulkova, of Slovakia, during the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Wednesday. Falconi won 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Top Cutlines:
At her old job, Korrine Kreilkamp had a small office, with fluorescent lights and no window. For peace and quiet, she would close her door and turn on a lamp. No lamp is required in her new office, and anything other 
than peace and quiet is the exception. As founder and director of the Community Roots Program, the 29-year-old Coeur d’Alene resident’s new workplace is on nearly an acre of rich soil in a quiet neighborhood. No longer does Kreilkamp push paper; she now pushes organically grown fruits and vegetables from the Roots Community Supported Agriculture, a plot farmed by shareholders who receive food and volunteers who drop in just to help out. And on Wednesdays, she assumes her role as a local organic-food baron, if there is such a thing. Called Roots Local Food Share, the program distributes fresh produce to food banks and homeless shelters in Coeur d’Alene/Chris Stein, Inlander. More here. (Inlander photo: Young Kwak, of Korrine Kreilkamp) H/T: Mike Kennedy
Question: Have you been directly involved in fighting hunger or caring for the homeless.
SR buddy Paul Turner considers these Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots to be the lamest toy of the 1960s, adding that he's sure that boys who played with 'em went on to lead productive lives. Paul also offers some other examples of lame toys in this post here.
Question: What would you consider to be the lamest toy today?
Kage Mann: What I find incredible is: there are people admitting they go to the thrift stores like St. Vinnys to buy cheap things; yet some won’t admit to going to Walmart. I’m sure the thrift stores sell some things made in China also.
Question: Anyone out there willing to admit that they go to thrift stores and/or WalMart?
Updated w/Sayler's official announcement & biographical information below
Former four-term state representative George Sayler just called Hucks Online to say that he's running for the 
Coeur d'Alene City Council seat, being vacated by Councilman Al Hassell. Sayler, who served from 2002-2010 in the Idaho Legislature, said he has public service in his blood and wants to continue to serve Coeur d'Alene. He said he also wants to be a counterbalance to all the “ugly and divisive” political talk that has stained Coeur d'Alene politics in recent years. Sayler is a former long-time educator at Coeur d'Alene High. Dan Gookin, a Coeur d'Alene activist, is the only other person now seeking Hassell's spot.
Question: Can Sayler beat Gookin and the Reagan Republicans?
On her Facebook wall, Cindy tells of following a truck hauling an outhouse on 395 today. Continues Cindy: “The outhouse door flew open and soon long toilet paper streamers began blowing in the wind. This was followed by toilet paper— lots of toilet paper that floated through the air. It was kinda like a tickertape parade. I just hope it was unused toilet paper.”
Question: I know people who simply won't use an outhouse, especially the ones you find at more rustic campgrounds that are odorous. Are you one of them?
The question that keeps bouncing around in my mind re: the Reagan Republicans forcing partisanship into nonpartisan races is this: When is a community group going to organize to push back against the attempt to 
force a Hard Right ideological agenda on every taxing district in Kootenai County. The Reagan Republicans and Rally Rightists have money and troops to beat the pavement. But I'm not convinced that they represent the majority opinion in this county (although the Hart/Vick/Barbieri District 3 might be another matter) and certainly not in Coeur d'Alene proper. The group that supports the progressive agenda of the city of Coeur d'Alene that brought us the Kroc Center, library, Riverstone, education corridor isn't organized, however. So does the Tea Party win by default, by virtual of being organized. The RRepublicans did well in school board and highway district elections. But they didn't sweep the field despite their money & organization. They're not an unstoppable force, despite all the moderate Republicans who cower from them. They are also not going to waltz to 2 freebie seats on the Coeur d'Alene council b/c incumbent John Bruning and challenger George Sayler are formidable, respected individuals. 'Twill be an interesting municipal election — DFO.
Terry Harris/Kootenai Environmental Alliance has just launched an online petition drive to save the viewtiful ponderosas and other trees along Rosenberry Drive (NIC Dike Road) from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
clear-cutting dictate. Petition language reads: “We, the undersigned, object to the levee vegetation policy as currently implemented by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, which would result in the removal of hundreds of trees along the Rosenberry Drive levee embankment in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The trees are not a danger to flood control and they provide the city with significant and irreplaceable environmental, aesthetic, and recreational values to our community. We urge your reconsideration of the policy so that we may preserve our trees.” More here. (SR file photo: Kathy Plonka)
Question: Are you interested in signing and/or circulating the petition?
In her latest newsletter, Mary Souza of OpenCDA.com tells of hobnobbing with new Kootenai County 
Commissioner Dan Green (pictured, left) to discuss “public employees and much more.” Quoth Mary: “The County will not raise taxes this year. They eliminated at least 12 underutilized positions. They combed through the budget and sliced out $800,000, but were saddened to discovered the state-mandated indigent care had been estimated at only half its real cost by the previous administration, so the new budget savings were obliterated this legal obligation officially called County Assistance. But they’re trying.” Green, Commissioner Jai Nelson (pictured, right), and new County Clerk Cliff Hayes give constituents “a much needed sense of hope.” You can read the rest of Mary's column here.
Question: How would you rate the performance of the two new commissioner — Dan Green & Jai Nelson — during their first 8 months in office?
Jules Gindraux, a longtime aquifer advocate, had a wonderful letter to the Coeur d’Alene Press recently regarding the BNSF refueling depot. The BNSF facility goes before a Kootenai County hearing examiner this 
evening for renewal of their conditional permit for operations. Jules points out the sad inevitability of the disaster waiting to happen as the BNSF facility refuels dozens of trains with thousands of gallons of fuel directly above the sole source of drinking water for more than a half million people. It is not really a matter of whether such a facility will fail, it is only a matter of when. As Jules puts it, “Every day that passes brings us closer to the ‘mean-time-to-failure.’” Of course, this facility has already failed once. Unfortunately, BNSF has an approval from the county that should never have been given/Terry Harris, KEA Blog. More here. (SR file photo)
DFO: I still consider the vote to allow BNSF to build a refueling depot to be the worst one by the county in my 27 years of North Idaho newspapering. Commissioners Dick Compton and Dick Panabaker voted for it. Commissioner Ron Rankin voted against it. May Ron RIP.
Question: Do you agree with Jules Gindraux that the BNSF depot will eventually fail?
A hot air balloon floats past the Boise Depot during the first day of the Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic Wednesday in Boise. The annual event continues every morning through Sunday. Eye On Boise story here. (AP Photo/Idaho Press-Tribune, Greg Kreller)
Certain talents run in families. Some boast generations of excellent cooks or writers or musicians. In Sue 
Borg’s family, a knack for cheerleading seems to be genetic. Borg and her daughter, Sarah Bunney have been coaching the Shadle Park cheerleaders for the past 10 years. The family has a long history with the school. Borg, class of ’68, was a Highland Dancer and met her husband, Greg there. Bunney, class of ’90, was a cheerleader, and her sister, Leah Borg, ’02, cheered as well/Cindy Hval, SR. More here. (SR photo: Sue Borg and her daughter, Sarah Bunney)
Question: What talent runs in your family?
On his Facebook page, OrangeTV/Get Out! North Idaho writes: “I visit (St. Vinny's thrift store) at least 3 times a week, and I couldn't live without it for records, books, clothes, outdated electronics, and ugly wall 'art.'”
Question (from OTV): what's your favorite local thrift store and what do you look for first?
Huckleberries noticed moments ago that Marc Stewart, a former reporter for the Coeur d'Alene Press and 
PRmeister for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, has announced his new gig with Lewis-Clark State College, as public information officer. Nice to see Marc land on his feet after the Coeur d'Alene Tribe misfired by failing to renew his contract. (Aside: Steady flow of information from the tribe under Marc has diminished to a trickle under new guiding lights, despite promises early on to the contrary.) Marc's a pro. He'll improve visibility of LCSC in North Idaho. Please join Hucks Online in welcoming him back.
SR colleague Rich Landers is amused at the outrage from ideological bloggers and commenters who are 
taking him to task for a column he wrote about the grizzly killing in Boundary County. Writes Landers: “People want to hear what they want to hear about the Jeremy Hill grizzly bear shooting case, and some of them aren't letting facts get in the way of spreading their agenda on the Web. My down-the-middle factual column on the case last week pointed out the various considerations the case brings up as the case heads to trial.” But Landers believes Wayne Hoffman of the Idaho Freedom Foundation intentionally lied about his column to score points with “unquestioning people.” You can read Rich's full post here.
Reaction?
There's very little about the process of moving that can be called fun, but one thing that comes to mind is rediscovering favorite books as you pack and unpack. When I relocated to the Palouse a few weeks ago, at 
least half my boxes were full of books. Putting them back in place was like getting re-acquainted with old friends. I don't know how many volumes I have, but just seeing them line the shelves gives me a feeling of contentment no Kindle or electronic reader could ever match. One of the best books I've ever read was “Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea,” by Gary Kinder. I may have mentioned it in an earlier column, but if it's good enough for a second and third read, it's good enough for a second mention/William Spence, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Do you ever re-read books? Which one(s)? Why?
Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., greets American Legion officers on stage after addressing the national convention Thursday in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)
Question: Who would you rather see as president, if you were forced to pick: Michele Bachmann or Sarah Palin?
When professional economists analyze how well Idaho will do in the next 18 months, they consider a host of factors. Will interest rates spur investment? Will more people have jobs? How much will they get paid? What 
will Idaho's commodities and manufactured goods command on the open market? How will the timber and mining sectors perform? Will the nation as a whole prosper? And what do some of the country's leading analysts predict? That information is spun into a statistical formula, then massaged into a formal projection of how much tax revenue Idaho can expect to have on hand for its programs. It's not flawless. Coming within 1 or 2 percentage points is remarkable, but even that can produce shortfalls or surpluses. No matter. Gov. C. L. (Butch) Otter knows better. He relies on his instincts and his ideology/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
More Idaho Opinion:
Question: Does Butch really know best about the Idaho economy & budget?
John Stocks, who spent most of the 1980s as a community organizer and political strategist in Boise and 
Coeur d'Alene, takes over as executive director of the NEA Thursday. Stocks was elected as a Democrat from Kootenai County to the Idaho Senate in 1988, but served only one session before leaving to become the top lobbyist for the Wisconsin Education Association Council. With 3.2 million members, the NEA is the largest union in the United States. It has affiliates in every state, including the Idaho Education Association, which represents 13,000 Idaho teachers/Dan Popkey, Statesman. More here.
Question: John Stocks, then of Coeur d'Alene, represented District 2 (which then had 2 state senators and 3 state representatives) in Kootenai County for one term (1988-89). Can you name the other state senator at the time or any of the representatives?
On the first day of fall camp last month, Idaho football coach Robb Akey approached Brian Reader – a senior 
who bided his time behind a four-year starter – and supplied a clear message. “I remember the first practice we had out here,” Akey recalled last week. “I said, ‘We gave you the keys (to the offense) back there in the spring and you started driving. I want you to drive the damn thing fast now – and drive it like an Escalade, a fast Escalade.’ ” Just how well Reader has adjusted to his new role as the Vandals’ top QB – and how the offense has adjusted to him – will start to manifest itself tonight at 6, when Idaho kicks off its season by hosting Bowling Green in rematch of the memorable 2009 Humanitarian Bowl/Josh Wright, SR. More here. (Moscow-Pullman Daily News file photo: Dean Hare)
Question: Any predictions about tonight's game or the 2012 Vandal season?
TRIP, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that supports road and bridge construction, issued a report Thursday saying Idaho has the second highest percentage of major rural pavements in poor condition, behind Vermont. 
The Idaho Associated General Contractors were included in a TRIP news release, quoting Executive Director Mark Dunham. “The TRIP report is yet another in a long series of studies from various sources that illustrates Idaho’s consistent need to beef up our transportation funding,” said Dunham. “On the heels of Governor Otter’s 2010 Task Force on Modernizing Transportation Funding, this report is another sobering reminder that Idaho’s economic health and recovery, as well as the safety of our citizens, are at significant risk if we continue to short change our transportation infrastructure”/Dan Popkey, Statesman. More here. (SR file photo, of Idaho road construction, for illustrative purposes)
Question: Are you served by a rural road that's in poor condition?
In this undated file photo taken in Yachats, Ore., Karen Noyes feeds black bears outside her home. Noyes, who has lost a legal fight to feed black bears from her home on the Oregon coast, says she’s not coming back to Oregon. Rich Landers/Outdoors blog provides more details here. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Karen Noyes, The Oregonian, file)
Mayor Sandi Bloem's office has released the newest official photo of Her Sandiness (right). I'm also publishing the previous official portrait. Which one do you like best? Why?
The pressure is on President Obama to deliver a blockbuster plan to revive the economy, as the White House hypes his upcoming jobs speech — amid a bungled rollout — as a potential turning point in his administration. 
When the White House first teased the public last month about the upcoming presidential address, some in Washington immediately panned it as just another jobs speech — the kind he's delivered numerous times before turning his attention to other matters. This one is different, the White House says. Press Secretary Jay Carney described the speech as “significant,” with economic recovery on the line. Upping the ante, the president announced Wednesday that he plans to deliver the speech before a Joint Session of Congress, a venue reserved only for major speeches/Fox News. More here.
Question: What could the president propose that would make an impact on the economy?
As the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks approaches, half of Americans say the nation has 
changed for the worse while more than one-quarter (28 percent) believe the country is in a better place, according to an AARP Bulletin poll. More than three-quarters of those surveyed say the 2001 tragedy has made them appreciate their families and friends more, and adults 50-plus expressed a heightened appreciation for police and firefighters (76 percent), more than people under 50 (69 percent). Among all age groups, more than two in three (73 percent) say they're now more aware of events overseas. About one in six (14 percent) say the attacks did not change the country at all/AARP Bulletin. More here. (AP file photo)
Question: What do you think?
Item: Commandments make a move: Marble block now sits at the Veterans Plaza/Coeur d'Alene Press
More Info: The commandments aren't gone. They've justrelocated. Kootenai County has moved the block of marble inscribed with the Ten Commandments from the courthouse lawn to the Veterans Plaza, beside the Administration Building. The small monolith was moved several hundred feet so it would sit among other pieces for public viewing, said Building and Grounds Manager Shawn Riley, like the memorial for fallen soldiers and seamen, and the statue for former Commissioner Ronald Rankin.
Question: Should the Ten Commandments be posted at the Kootenai County Courthouse?
Joe Heller/Hellertoons
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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