Spokane7
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GOP Rep. Simpson is among nine “Republicans in Name Only” it aims to unseat in 2014 primaries. Club for Growth spent $1.1 million on behalf of former Idaho GOP Rep. Bill Sali in the 2006 primary and general elections, about half of all the money spent on his behalf. Sali won that race, but lost to Democrat Walt Minnick in 2008. Current Rep. Raul Labrador defeated Minnick in 2010. Simpson had a challenge from the right in both 2008 and 2010 from tea party favorite Chick Heileson. Simpson won with 58 percent in a four-way race in 2010. In a head-to-head with Heileson in 2012, Simpson won 70 percent to 30 percent/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. 
started keeping track a decade ago. The Idaho Department of Labor reports 7.7 percent of Idaho workers earned $7.25 an hour or less last year. That’s up from 5 percent in 2011. The new data show Idaho has the largest share of minimum-wage workers in the country. … The Labor Department says three in four Idaho jobs created last year were in the service sector, an area saturated with minimum wage jobs. Nationally, the share of workers earning minimum wage dropped from 5.2 percent to 4.7 percent in 2012/Emilie Ritter Saunders, StateImpact. 
to tell. The Cleveland-based museum will open “Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Satisfaction,” an exclusive exhibit celebrating the archetypal rock band, on May 24. The exhibit will be open until March 2014 and will include personal and collected items that have never before been seen by the public along with film, text and interactive components and periodic lectures on the band's 50-year career. The entire exhibit will take up more than two floors of the museum/Associated Press. 
his native Coeur d'Alene a few years back because he felt that Coeur d'Alene was getting too crowded. He returned last year for his 40th class reunion. I know that his father's suicide had haunted him through the years. I had the pleasure of meeting him in person before he moved to Oregon. He wasn't much of a people person. So I considered myself honored that he'd swing by the office to say goodbye. He was whimsical in his observations. But a kind soul. I'll miss him. In June 2011, Dave wrote a poignant blog post re: his family while considering the Casey Anthony trial. He wished his family was as mellow as his friend's. It'll give you some insight into this gentle but sometime tortured soul. 
How much do you know about Gonzaga University basketball players, taxes on Girl Scout Cookies, new gaming systems and other current events? Take our weekly interactive quiz and find out. You could win movie tickets, EWU basketball tickets or a $50 gift card to the Davenport Hotel. 
thousand.
aim to change the Idaho Constitution's definition of a militia to include all the state's adults. That way, argued Sen. Jim Rice of Caldwell Wednesday in the Senate State Affairs Committee, the federal government could never swoop in and disarm residents. Rice wants to put the amendment before voters in the November 2014 election, calling it an important “backstop” to existing protections of individual gun rights/Associated Press. 
legislative session – and it came from a 12-year-old. “Idaho is home to many amazing amphibians,” sixth-grader Ilah Hickman told the House State Affairs Committee. “One should be selected to represent our great state.” She proposed the Idaho giant salamander as Idaho’s state amphibian. “It bears the name of Idaho, and I think that the skin on it looks like the topographical map of our Bitterroot mountain range,” Ilah told the committee. “A lot of states have reptiles and amphibians, but Idaho doesn’t,” she noted. “Many have frogs and newts and salamanders”/Betsy Russell, SR. 
Legislature passed the reforms. The obvious opposition was the Idaho Education Association and in the midst of the debate over the bills, the IEA and allies in labor mounted loud public opposition to the actually modest reforms. Proponents muscled through the bills relying on wide Republican majorities but failed to match the asdtro-turbed public relations efforts of the IEA. 
tax credit for donations to scholarships for Idaho students to attend to private schools, saying the move will save money by having fewer students enroll in Idaho public schools. “This particular piece of legislation has a projected state savings of $3.3 million, and a projected local savings of $2.49 million, for a total overall savings of $5.8 million dollars,” Nonini told the House Rev & Tax Committee this morning/Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise. 
says they're not trying?
cool with that. If you’ve been paying any attention, you know this is already the state of our state. Cops who merely lie or break the laws can not only hang onto their jobs, they can expect lavish rewards if their bosses get the crazy idea that they should be fired. Arbitration rights intended to protect employees from capricious decisions by bad bosses have instead turned into a full protection plan for cops who do things that might get them fired as a grocery bagger. Spokane Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich took a run at changing that, but the idea – carried by state Rep. Kevin Parker and state Sen. Mike Padden, both local Republicans – died whimpering in committee last week/Shawn Vestal, SR. 
Alto, Calif.-based manufacturer Varian Medical Systems. The machine is able to completely rotate around patients and deliver radiation treatment from many different angles resulting in fewer side effects. 
this time next month, you might not see any other significant changes in the man or the way he goes about the business of life. A cancer survivor approaching his fifth anniversary in remission, Malzahn plans to keep on keepin' on pretty much the way he has been - which is well above par for the course. 
redevelopment of McEuen Park the tree will fall under the axe. The tree, which has replica dog tags hanging from lights on the tree, will be cut down to make way for the park expansion; plans call for a new tree to be planted and a new veterans memorial, but some say the process is being handled all wrong. “Its meaning to people and there's people's names on 'em and again that is something that is special,” veteran Baron Cheffer said. The tree got its name in honor of retired Air Force Lt. Col. Captain Fred McMurray, who was shot down over North Vietnam on Sept. 12, 1972 while flying as a navigator aboard an F-4E Phantom. 
when the Senate Education Committee tabled a bill that would tie teenagers’ driver’s licenses to “satisfactory academic progress.” Teen driver’s licenses are already tied to school attendance. Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, proposed the academic requirement, 
Strategery Report, February issue) circulated to legislators via the state email system today. The 8-page flyer encourages Republicans to focus on winning elected positions on nonpartisan boards to eliminate Democrats from holding revenue purse strings. Also, it includes a section on why the “modest” — word use by Lahr (pictured) & Jeff Ward — reforms proposed by Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna were soundly defeated by otherwise conservative Idahoans. At the end, The Strategery Report tells the individual lawmakers: “Whether you are an incumbent, a challenger, or seeking an open seat, we at the Strategery Group would like the opportunity to help you to victory. You can read 
Saturday at the Coeur d'Alene Library came to the same conclusion I did. The Republican Party in Kootenai County has never been more unified and willing to fight together as allies. The reason: opposition to the implementation of Obamacare in Idaho through a state healthcare exchange. Although it is disappointing that some of our legislators have yet to see the state exchange as the unilateral surrender to Obamacare that it is, there is no doubt the vast (almost uniform) majority of rank-and-file Republicans in our county intently and vocally oppose the measure/Jeff Ward, Kootenai Weekly Conservative.
a week when he and sophomore guard Kevin Pangos started working on a trick-shot video. Guy Landry Edi and Elias Harris went to Cold Stone for ice cream Sunday night, then hung out at a house shared by Sam Dower, Kelly Olynyk and David Stockton. A few nights ago, Barham and Pangos snap-chatted (ask a teenager) home-made music videos to teammates. However you want to define team chemistry, it seems the Gonzaga men’s basketball team has plenty of it/Jim Meehan, SR. 
appetizers dot Coeur d'Alene's dining and drinking landscape - not that there's anything wrong with that. 
Larry Craig of Idaho left the US Senate in 2008. His impact is still being felt — both as a lobbyist and as a 
defendant in a lawsuit. The details are well developed in the McClatchy article below. What isn't so clear is how this re-surfacing of Larry Craig's highly embarrassing public bathroom episode will serve him. Is it the money? Is it some type of obscure and “official” Senate duty (which may help MANY other elected officials who feel it is warranted to use donor dollars for legal expenses. For me, it's just odd that just when we thought it was “safe” to come out of the water-closet, we're all back there again. The “tap, tap” jokes. The “wide stance” stuff. The black-eyed-potato comments/Dennis Mansfield. More here. (AP file photo: Larry Craig, with Gov. Butch Otter standing by him, announces his resignation on Sept. 1, 2007)
Question: Will we still be talking about this embarrassing incident 10 years from now?
And I don't mean Social Security or the national debt or the cost of false teeth in the future when the wee ones of today become the elders of tomorrow.
lately has become a suicide mission. RINO, of course, refers to Republicans In Name Only and is the pejorative term used against those who fail to march in lockstep with the so-called conservative base. I used “so-called” because, though the hard-right faction of the party tends to be viewed as The Base, this isn't necessarily so. My guess is there are now more RINOs than those who, though evangelical in their zeal, are poison to their party's ability to win national elections.
home six American diplomats who were hiding out during the 1979 hostage crisis in Iran. But after watching “Argo” over the weekend, I’m thinking the finished product is nearly as fanciful as the film that was never meant to be made. That’s the trouble when you know more facts than you should about something, I guess. What happened in Iran more than three decades ago always boils down to a couple of deeply personal things to me: The biggest scoop I ever had. And the most meaningful decision of my newsmongering career. My unexpected intrusion into this international crisis centered on a U.S. agricultural attaché who was serving in Tehran when militants stormed our embassy on Nov. 4, 1979. His name is Lee Schatz/Doug Clark, SR. 
that I have read. Here is what I came up with off the top of my head. There may be a couple more: The Compleat Angler, Journal of the Plague Year, Robinson Caruso, The Decameron, a couple of Shakespeare’s plays, and Machiavelli’s “The Prince.” Knowing that there are some English majors (and many very well read people) posting on HBO, what olde books have others read that are not on my list?
31 years with the Foreign Agricultural Service shows the University of Idaho agricultural economics graduate is brave, resourceful and committed to making the world a better place. He’s also the only agricultural economist to trod the red carpet in October's Beverly Hills premier of Ben Affleck’s new movie “Argo.” It portrays a 1980 U.S.-Canada covert operation to extract six Americans from Iran during the hostage crisis. Lee Schatz was one of the six. That’s why he was on the 
mother’s lap on a recent Delta Airlines flight on approach to Atlanta, he was doing what babies tend to do on airplanes, particularly airplanes that are changing altitude. He was crying his little head off. Shut that “(N-word) baby” up. Those were the alleged words of the alleged man in the next seat just before he allegedly slapped the baby with an open palm, leaving a scratch below his right eye. The alleged man, 60-year-old Joe Rickey Hundley, of Hayden, denies this sequence of events, and his attorney last week said Hundley would plead not guilty to a charge of simple assault. But at least one witness corroborates the story, as told by Jonah’s mother, 33-year-old Jessica Bennett. She and her husband are white. Their adopted son is African-American/Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald. 
needing to make up a 7-pound deficit. And he nearly did it! Palaniuk, who has a BASS elite champion ranking, finished as the runner-up in the 43rd annual World Championship of bass fishing at Grand Lake O' the Cherokees near Tulsa, Okla. He caught a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 51 pounds 8 ounces, short of the 14 bass totaling 54 pounds 12 ounces ounces caught by 32-year-old winner 
the moment. The score mushrooms. March and its madness looms. Giddy anticipation befogs even the undeniable appeal of the here and now, and if the Gonzaga Bulldogs don’t much want to hear about it, they are responsible for it. In that respect, they are too good right now for their own good. On an incandescent afternoon in Spokane, the Zags turned the lights out again on another poor victim, the University of San Diego Toreros this time – a team that took Gonzaga down to the last shot just three weeks ago barely putting up resistance through the first TV timeout Saturday. The final score was 81-50. That made it the nail biter of the week/John Blanchette, SR. 
reality 50 years ago. And, as she enters her third act, the woman the world knows as Patty Duke is looking back on that historic night in 1963. “The feeling I had was being in awe,” she says, remembering that magical Hollywood night. “Bette Davis was there, Gregory Peck…” In the midst of those legends sat a 16-year old girl, given name Anna Duke, who was about to become one herself. She was up against Hollywood heavy hitters like Angela Lansbury. A novelty because of her young age, Duke was an icon already because of the role for which she was nominated. “The role itself - the dominating spirit of Hellen Keller as a child,” Duke says, describing her role in The Miracle Worker. “The rage that is inside, because she's trapped in there. She exists. She's not just deaf, dumb and blind - there's a soul in there!”/Melissa Luck, KXLY executive producer. 
Academy Awards. In share-the-wealth mode, Oscar voters spread Sunday’s honors among a range of films, with “Argo” winning three trophies but “Life of Pi” leading with four. Daniel Day-Lewis became the first person to win three best-actor Oscars, the latest coming for “Lincoln,” while “Hunger Games” star Jennifer Lawrence triumphed in Hollywood’s big games as best actress for “Silver Linings Playbook.” Ang Lee pulled off a major upset, winning best director for the shipwreck story “Life of Pi,” taking the prize over Steven Spielberg, who had been favored for “Lincoln.” It was the second directing Oscar for Lee, who also won for “Brokeback Mountain”/Associated Press. 
But did you know that half of the directors of the Diamond Cup Regatta resigned from the board during the first week of February? A look at the secretary of state’s business directory reveals that four directors quit Feb. 1-4 – 
photo posted to her Facebook page. Jennifer Olsen has told her Yellowstone County Central Committee that she did not post on her Facebook page an image of a box trap baited with a watermelon to capture President Barack Obama. A screen-captured image from the Facebook page was posted to a local right-leaning blog Feb. 15 and quickly went viral. It has been re-posted on the Daily Kos, a liberal website with 2.5 million unique monthly visitors. Commentors on several blogs are calling Olsen racist for the post. Olsen did not respond to email and phone calls placed by The Billings Gazette/Tom Lutey, Billings Gazette. 
But did you know that directors of the Diamond Cup Regatta are dropping like flies? A look at the Secretary of State's business directory reveal that four directors abruptly resigned their posts in the first week of this month — 
throughout the 85th Annual Academy Awards this Sunday. The Spokane Public Radio “Movies 101” co-host will give you his take as the action unrolls. Will Ben Affleck, spurned at a chance for Best Director, enjoy the last laugh, if his film “Argo” steals Best Picture honors from “Lincoln?” Will overwhelming Best Actor favorite Daniel Day-Lewis watch as another two-time Oscar winner — Denzel Washington — walks away with that little gold statuette? Watch with Dan and get instant insight by checking in on 
earlier this month is scheduled to be arraigned on March 5. Jesse W. Edwards Jr., of Coeur d'Alene, has been charged with injury to a child for the Feb. 10 incident, according to court documents. 
“Ultraconservatives? What does that even mean? Every rank and file conservative Republican I know (right wing, traditional, libertarian, old guard, Reaganite, fiscal, social, and christian) opposes a state exchange not just your scapegoated 'ultraconservatives.' The only Republicans I know who support a state exchange are some Legislators, the Governor and a bunch of lobbyists.” Well, you can now add 23 senators to the list of key individuals who have enough common sense to realize that Obamacare — love it or hate it — is the law of the land and that the state is in the best position to handle a health exchange — not the feds. So it appears that Jeff and others attempting to knock this train off the rails are a bit to the right of the very conservative Idaho Senate. Then what else is new. Last year Jeff and every GOP legislator and candidate supported the voter-rejected Luna Laws — another indication that local Republicans may be out of step with Idaho Republicans elsewhere. Those on the Far Right of the county GOP spectrum enjoy besmirching anyone to their left (which is the majority of Kootenai County if you consider moderate Republicans, Independents and Democrats) as “liberals.” Could it be that a fair number of Republicans in Kootenai County have taken conservatism further to the right than the rest of Idaho's dominant conservative movement? — DFO.
back east what a wonderful place this is. However, the cloud of racism can drift far and wide and we sometimes found ourselves in the uncomfortable and embarrassing position of explaining to our more enlightened friends back east the hatred Richard Butler and his ignorant tribe spread nationwide. We wanted to believe Butler and his followers were cancerous anomalies among otherwise open minded and compassionate people. 
insurance exchange bill, marking a key victory for the GOP governor and sending his signature proposal of the legislative session to the House. Outnumbered opponents extended the debate – which ran from 9:45 a.m. to nearly 4 p.m. – asking questions, proposing motions that were voted down and threatening to go even longer. Under the national health care reform law, states can choose to set up their own exchanges – Internet-based portals where residents can shop for health insurance plans and access federal subsidies – or the federal government will run exchanges for them/Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise. 
misdemeanor battery case. Jorgenson, 64, of Hayden Lake, is accused of throwing a now-former employee of his restaurant to the ground over a dispute about the employee's pay. 
since our founding and unlike others, we refuse to give up, surrender freely forgo our rights as Americans. We have not lost! Our hope to stand against Obamacare lies in the Idaho House of Representatives where we pray there are enough Republicans who will not surrender our liberties. Attend the Town Hall Saturday or call your Representative today.
Before she became an honors college student and was named 2013 Idaho Teacher of the Year, Katie Pemberton struggled mightily in the classroom. Pemberton, a math teacher at Coeur d’Alene School District’s 
anything to prove. After all, he went 42-3 last year on his way to capturing a 5A state championship at 106 pounds. Historically, though, the lighter weights are chock full of freshmen. Foster cruised through his weight, never facing a junior or senior. That will be different when the state tournament begins Friday at Holt Arena in Pocatello. Foster sports a 48-2 record and is seeded No. 1 at 120/Greg Lee, SR. 
A man who stabbed another man in a transient camp in Coeur d’Alene last summer has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. James H. Kountz, 56, stabbed James Hoglen, 43, last June during an argument at the camp near Wilbur Avenue and Highway 95. According to court documents, Hoglen said Kountz came after him with a knife and cut him in the face and then on his left side. Hoglen tried to defend himself by throwing a camp chair at Kountz, who said he was going to kill Hoglen. Hoglen sustained a cut near his left eye and three injuries on his torso. Kountz will be eligible for parole after four years, with credit for time served/SR. 
the car he was driving crashed into a tree at Miles and Avondale Loop, Hayden Lake, about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27. Freund allegedly had a blood-alochol level of .32 at the time of the crash — or four times the legal limit. Freund was arrested for DUI after refusing medical aid for his daughter and him at the scene of the crash. Both accident victims were bruised and bleeding. The girl was treated at Kootenai Medical Center and later Sacred Heart in Spokane. A judge found probably cause Tuesday to charge Freund with felony injury to child, felony aggravated DUI and felony DUI. In 2007, he was arrested on separate occasions for boating under the influence and DUI. A bond of $50,000 has been set upon his arrest/Lt. Stu Miller, Kootenai County Sheriff's Office. 
You don't have to be well-versed in current events to win this week's interactive news quiz, but it can't hurt. All entrants can win two movie tickets or four EWU men's basketball tickets. And the overall champ takes home a $50 gift card to the Davenport Hotel. Good luck! 
contestants filed in for the fifth annual Not So Newlywed Game. Modeled after the TV show “The Newlywed Game,” Touchmark’s variation featured four couples competing to show just how well they know each other. Betty Doerschlag, life enrichment director, introduced the couples – most of whom were a bit more “wed” than “newly”/Cindy Hval, SR. 
competitors on both teams. There is nothing wrong with cheering loudly, but comments directed at individual players is cowardly. If you want to “taunt” you should have to back it up. In my day, that meant putting your fists where your mouth was. I have gone to so many college games in my life, 50+ years, and still see plenty of fans who behave in a respectful manner. It is usually just a minority of clowns who probably wouldn't know what a jock strap was for, who act like idiots.
drinking fountain without stopping. This presents two hazards. First, a significant number of drinking fountains on campus taste, as my brother once said, “like blood.” It’s actually iron, but iron makes blood taste like blood. The second hazard is the need to find a bathroom at a moment’s notice. Anybody who has spent any time with me knows I am quite adept at finding bathrooms. And with a plentitude of bathrooms on campus, I have discovered some fantastic places to answer nature’s call.” 
a given, right? But did you know Obama also helped raise more money for state fish and game agencies and, ultimately, America's hunters than any president in U.S. history?
resurrect portions of the Students Come First reforms.
wing, traditional, libertarian, old guard, Reaganite, fiscal, social, and christian) opposes a state exchange not just your scapegoated “ultraconservatives.” The only Republicans I know who support a state exchange are some Legislators, the Governor and a bunch of lobbyists. Opposing a state exchange has actually brought together many Republican rivals from the last couple of years. Ron Mendive and Jeff Tyler who slugged it out in the 3rd District Republican Primary both oppose the state exchange. Same with Vito Barbieri and Mark Fisher from the 2nd. Even Raul Labrador and Vaughn Ward are on the same page on this issue. This is not dividing North Idaho Republicans but creating a new unity against a very bad idea.
Kellogg announced of their voluntarily recalling of Special K Red Berries cereal because of possible glass fragments inside the packaging. The company is to recall three different sizes of 11.2-ounce, 22.4-ounce and 37-ounce boxes sold in the U.S. “Please check any packages you have in your home and if your package matches the following criteria, please do not eat the product and contact us for a replacement coupon,” the alert said. “We may also make arrangements to retrieve the product for further evaluation”/KpopStarz. 
accused of being bought and paid for by insurance companies). Here is the link to the posting on the Secretary of State's web site of donations my campaign has received along with all other state legislators. Lots of sunshine in Idaho! And that is the way I like it - all in the light of the day! 
Airport (Kalispell, Mont.) today, meaning the return of the enhanced pat-down and “perhaps longer wait times” for departing passengers, airport director Cindi Martin said. The millimeter-wave Advanced Imaging Technology machine was installed at Glacier Park International in March 2012. Martin said the scanner was well-received and streamlined the boarding process. 
years’ probation for making a false statement, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Harris to pay a $750 fine. He pleaded guilty to the charge on Dec. 4. Harris was the lead superintendent of the Dover Bridge Project, the majority of which was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 through the Federal Highway Administration. The project called for the existing steel-truss bridge located on U.S. 2 near Dover to be replaced with a new steel bridge. According to court documents, Harris directed laborers to modify nonconforming anchor bolts so it would appear to the inspection team that the bolts were in compliance. Harris admitted that he knew the anchor bolts did not conform to contract specifications. The safety and soundness of the project was not affected. The case was investigated by the United States Department of Transportation and the FBI. (Kathy Plonka SR file photo of old Dover Bridge)
the state isn't slated to get an official, state-sponsored program to honor those killed by drunk drivers, after a House panel rejected the proposal on Wednesday. Democratic Rep. Shirley Ringo of Moscow brought the plan to the House State Affairs Committee, saying erecting signs to remember victims could warn people about the dangers of driving while drunk. Ringo was asked to promote the bill on behalf of former Rep. Rep. Tom Trail, who lost a family member in such an accident/Associated Press. 
homes because a couple of blasts from a shotgun will scare off intruders. “Buy a shotgun, buy a shotgun,” the vice president encouraged those worried about defending themselves. He was speaking in an online video as part of a Facebook town hall hosted by Parents Magazine on the administration's strategy for reducing gun violence, which he has led at the direction of President Barack Obama. Biden said he keeps two shotguns and shells locked up at home and he's told his wife, Jill, to use them if she needs protection. He presumably was speaking about before he became vice president, a position that gives the couple full-time Secret Service protection/Associated Press. 
from Coeur d'Alene, standing at a podium flanked by fellow freshman House members and announcing to the press that he'd crafted a “trailer” bill to Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter's state-based health insurance exchange proposal. As in the past, President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act has sent the GOP into a tizzy. … The hard-right wing of the Idaho GOP is so set against health care reform that it doesn't even support Otter's idea for a state-based exchange—a plan that falls short of the governor's own initial saber rattling about suing the feds. For the ideologues, the ultimate solution is nullification; and we all know how well that worked for the South back in the 1800s. Malek's proposal, meanwhile, is modest: more oversight of the exchange, including by legislators/Zach Hagadone, Boise Weekly. 
agreed upon by the two parties in a public meeting. You could feel the frustration in the voices of long term members such and Ron Edinger and the newer, more conservative member of the current city council, Dan Gookin .I think this is just another showing of the quality of the current school board led by Jeff Ward and the Reagan Republicans.
taking the stance that they are not. This is macho outdoorsy rugged individual country. Maybe the macho part of it is the problem. You know, the women as property, barefoot and pregnant, etc. I'd not expect so much of that on a campus and certainly not in the legislature, but here we are. That being the case I shouldn't have been surprised to learn that one 
appearance in federal court. Joe Rickey Hundley (pictured in SR file photo by Kathy Plonka) surrendered to federal agents Tuesday morning and then stood before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mikel H. Williams via video at the federal courthouse in Coeur d'Alene. Hundley, of Hayden, was released by the magistrate on $10,000 bond. As conditions of his release, the 60-year-old cannot drink alcohol or possess firearms and must surrender his passport. He cannot travel outside of Idaho, eastern Washington state, or the northern district of Georgia, where the case will be tried/Associated Press. 
required by sequestration to kick in as scheduled on March 1, forcing devastating cuts. “The one thing I’ve discovered is for every complex problem, there is a simple solution that doesn’t work,” said 2nd District Congressman Mike Simpson. “I think sequestration is going to kick into effect, because I don’t see the will on either side of the aisle to try to address what are painfully stupid cuts – it’s a meat ax”/Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise. 
On her Facebook wall, KXLY weathercaster Kris Crocker posts: “
team at the Vermont Complex Systems Center, who posted their 
series of safety upgrades that cost more than $30 million. The mine was closed on orders from federal mine inspectors following a rock burst that injured seven workers in December 2011. The mile-deep silver mine in Mullan, Idaho, is expected to return to full production later this year. The company announced all employees were recalled and received supplemental safety training. The rock burst injuries followed fatal accidents at the Lucky Friday that killed two miners in April and November of 2011/Tom Sowa, SR. 
advocates Saturday for a Second Amendment rally. Marvin Dugger of Lewiston and Rose Bunch of Clarkston are hosting the event on behalf of the Tea Party group.
you to help make this year's event successful. The best way to do that is to participate and to share the experience with others. Please sponsor tables, donate goods and/or services and buy raffle tickets for the firearms raffle. This will be a fundraiser style dinner where tickets are only $50 per plate. Similar style fundraising dinners usually start at $500 per plate; this is an tremendous opportunity to introduce others to the Republican Party and our elected officials. 
were trying to get U.S. Sen. Rand Paul as the speaker for the March 8 event. The Powers That Be had remained mum about the possible speaker long after confirming Denney to handle the speaking duties. Mebbe the PTB didn't want a repeat of last year's snafu, when “Sheriff (Richard) Mack” was invited/disinvited & finally invited during a whirlwind of special votes, parliamentary maneuvering and even a proxy vote challenge that found its way into a Coeur d'Alene police report. The news should be out Tuesday.
revealed the new hairstyle last month on her 49th birthday, which came a few days before the festivities for President Barack Obama's second inauguration. Mrs. Obama was asked about the new haircut during an interview with talk-show host Rachael Ray. Said Mrs. Obama: “This is my midlife crisis.” She added that she cut her bangs because she can't get a sports car and won't be allowed to bungee jump/Associated Press. 
Idaho will go to the state, rather than to Girl Scout programs, under current tax policy. The Girl Scouts of the Silver Sage Council aim to change that, so they’re pushing for legislation this year to end Idaho’s distinction as one of just two states – Hawaii is the other – that still taxes Girl Scout cookies. Removing Idaho’s 6 percent sales tax from the fundraiser cookies would cost the state roughly $140,000 a year, according to legislation being sponsored by state Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, and co-sponsored by state Rep. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise. But the Girl Scouts say the money goes to a great cause: 23 percent of Silver Sage girl scouts are on scholarship, and the money to pay for their membership fees, badges, sashes and for camp comes from the cookie sale/Betsy Russell, SR. 
Blogfest brings things into perspective. I know something's happening here when individuals with different agendas, politics and religious persuasions — and even somewhat hostile to one another in cyberspace — can break bread together and discuss common ground. I had the pleasure of watch Adamsfly, a regular critic of Dan Gookin and Tom Hamilton, introduce himself to Gookin at Blogfest 2013. The two men then had a constructive conversation. I spotted only one bonafide Democrat at Blogfest (Dan of the Community). But I suppose the Far Right will continue to say Huckleberries is run by and for “libruls.” Reagan Republicans, United Conservatives of North Idaho and Libertarians were well represented at Blogfest. Saturday's event was held on the exact date that I began this exercise 9 years ago, Feb. 16. During those nine years, it has evolved from something best described as the Wild West of the Blogosphere into one of the few newspaper blogs in this country that attracts civil discussion. I'm proud of that. I'm thankful that the SR continues to pay me to be a full-time blogger, serving Kootenai County and North Idaho. Huckleberries has been able to show that most of us have more in common than we think. The blog has grown to almost 11,000 readers in the last nine years. I'm happy about that, too. God willing, I'll be around for Blogfest 2014 — and two more beyond. As we approach Blogfest 2016, I'll see what shape I'm in and if I want to continue on. Until then, let's continue to enjoy the moment — DFO.
said Sunday. Joe Rickey Hundley, 60, of Hayden, pictured, is no longer an employee of AGC Aerospace and Defense, Composites Group, Daniel Keeney of DPK Public Relations confirmed Sunday night. Al Haase, president and CEO of AGC, issued a statement early Sunday that, while not referring to Hundley by name, called reports of behavior by one of its executives on recent personal travel “offensive and disturbing” and said he “is no longer employed with the company.” Keeney would not say whether Hundley was fired or resigned. Hundley was president of AGC’s Hayden-based Unitech Composites and Structures unit/Associated Press. 
seated behind me talk about how many cadavers each of their students would need for their coming demonstrations. It's a question I've asked myself many times. People often wonder if there will be enough cadavers to go around for things like arts and crafts projects, science experiments and things of that nature.
has more than enough worldly influence without an American in the seat of St. Peter. But after Pope Benedict XVI’s extraordinary abdication, church analysts are wondering whether old assumptions still apply, including whether the idea of a U.S. pontiff remains off the table. Benedict himself has set a tone for change with his dramatic personal example. He is the first pontiff in six centuries to step down. Church leaders and canon lawyers are scrambling to resolve a litany of dilemmas they had never anticipated, such as scheduling a conclave without a funeral first and choosing a title for a former pope/Associated Press. 
fatally shot by poachers in the last week. Three of the deer were does that were carrying fawns, and a small caliber weapon was used in each instance, according to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. 
anti-Obama joke at a recent legislative forum. Tony Stewart told Huckleberries that his Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations is satisfied with Regan’s apology to district students, parents, administrators and teachers. The task force, which was instrumental in bankrupting the Aryan Nations, is also satisfied that other trustees took the inappropriateness of Regan’s comment seriously. At a press conference, the task force had called on Regan to apologize for his remark – and for other trustees to provide their views on it. The task force, admitted Stewart, was criticized for staging the press conference, with some saying that the presser was overreacting to a bad joke and others saying that it hadn’t gone far enough/DFO, SR Huckleberries. 
What do you worry about? Are most of your worries based on perception rather than reality? I’ve found that since I no longer watch TV news, my list of fears has decreased dramatically. I used to dwell on things that had very little chance of actually happening to me, just because the talking heads on the TV news told me I should be afraid. But then I’d forget about the slippery bathtub in my house or the artery-clogging hamburger I was eating/Idaho Dad, A Family Runs Through It. 
curb and a sidewalk — for anyone who's willing to give them a little TLC. (New trees need extra water for their first couple years.) The offer comes because the city charges a fee for street trees on its building permits. If the builder plants a tree, they get their money back. If not, the Parks Department uses that money to buy a tree and plant it themselves. Right now, they've got about 60 trees worth of fees they're looking to plant in May. They prefer planting in recently constructed neighborhoods that might be lacking foliage, like the Hawk's Nest or Landings developments on near Atlas and Prairie, says Katie Kosanke from the city's urban forestry program/Heidi Grover, Inlander. 
up,” a male \passenger allegedly slapped the 19-month-old across the face as a flight prepared to land in Atlanta last Friday evening, The Smoking Gun has learned. The shocking February 8 incident aboard Delta Airlines Flight 721 resulted in Joe Rickey Hundley, 60, being charged with simple assault, 
Monte Pearce tried to get Fish & Game Commissioner Joan Hurlock (shown in AP file photo) to withdraw her nomination without a fight. Pearce, the Senate Resources and Environment Committee chairman, was afraid that his committee and the Senate would “look like a bunch of men beating up on a young woman” if Hurlock pursued the nomination. This, according to Hurlock. Then, Hurlock said Pearce told her: “He said if I withdrew, ‘I am sure the governor could appoint you to another commission, maybe the nursing board.'” To which Hurlock said she responded: “I told him, 'Senator, I’m not qualified to serve on the nursing board.'” 
apology offered by Trustee Brent Regan to students, parents, administrators and constituents of the Coeur d'Alene School District. Regan has apologized on three separate occasions re: an insensitive, anti-Obama “joke” he told at a legislative forum earlier this winter. Also, Stewart said remarks by School Board Chairman Tom Hamilton and one other trustee at a recent School Board member indicated that the board took the error in judgment by Regan seriously. Stewart told Huckleberries that the task force was criticized by some for calling a press conference to denounce Regan's comment and by others for not going far enough. The task force took a stand, he said, for three reasons: 1. To let all students in the Coeur d'Alene district know they're important; 2. To let office holders know that they have a serious responsibility to watch what they say in public, and 3. To send a message to minorities that everyone is to be treated with dignify in this community.
