SR.com Blogs: Huckleberries Online

Wild Card/Thursday -- 8/21/08 (DFO)

I've decided not to post any new questions today re: the HBO Book Club discussion of William Young's "The Shack." With the horrific testimony and video today re: Joseph Duncan's torture of Dylan Groene, I thought it best to wait until tomorrow to continue the discussion. Or Monday, depending on what happens in the Boise court tomorrow. I'm hoping against hope that this goes to jury early tomorrow and jurors deliberate only minutes before deciding on execution. Now, for your Wild Card ... ( Full post )

Local Blogs -- Where To Go For 20th Anniversary? (DFO)

Kerri Thoreson/OnLocation North Idaho
"The Budweiser Clysdale team will parade daily at the North Idaho Fair (check the info booth when you get there for the times of their parades and outings)," posts Kerri Thoreson/OnLocation North Idaho. "You don't have to be a beer drinker to appreciate the massive majesty of these incredible creatures." ( Full post )

At The Fair -- Sali Indian Head Band (DFO)

I couldn't resist nabbing one of those yellow head bands that Congressman Bill Sali hands out at fairs. I didn't steal it, fuhcryinoutloud. While I was visiting DuaneR, Rep. Phil Hart, Jim Hollingsworth and Fred Ostermayer in the R booth last night, I saw a stack of them back in the corner. I wanted one for my office memorabilia collection. (Yeah, I have one of those Hillary Nutcracker figures, too.) ( Full post )

Duncan: Defense Rests w/o Statement (DFO)

Joseph Duncan took the witness stand, but had nothing to say. �I have no statement prepared, I was just intending to sit and answer whatever questions the government might have,� Duncan said. The judge called for a short recess, and the jury was led out. �Mr. Duncan, are you going to call any other witnesses?� Judge Lodge asked Duncan. �No,� Duncan responded. �We need to rest in the presence of the jury, so we�ll bring the jury back in,� the judge said/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.

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Scanner Traffic -- 8/21/08 (DFO)

2:27 p.m. Sounds like there's been a boating accident of some sort at Cave Bay (between High Drive & Madrona Loop). A female is conscious after being hit in the throat by something. Stay tuned.

1:20 p.m. T-bone accident blocking west-bound traffic at Atlas Road and Seltice Way. Toyota Avalon T-boned Honda Civic. Extrication equipment being used. Update: Driver of T-boned car is conscious and complaining of shoulder injury. He's being taken by ambulance to KMC.
12:10 p.m. Just heard from colleague Amy Cannata that hail is coming down so hard in the Spokane Valley that I-90 traffic is at a stand still.
11:47 a.m. A vehicle in the Worley area is traveling northbound in the southbound lane of Highway 95.
11:39 a.m. Injury accident on Prairie Avenue and Highway 95. A female motorist suffered minor injuries.
10:16 a.m. A truck, possibly a dump truck, is on its top in a ditch, north of CamRose Lane on Atlas. No injuries.
8:31 a.m. A customer in the Twin Lakes Trading Post was spotted a short while ago possibly smoking pot in a maroon SUV in the parking with someone in a dark Honda Accord. The Accord has left the parking lot. ( Full post )

Smith: Editors Trying To Survive, Too (DFO)

Those concerns are hard enough on editors. But all of us know that we are probably the least secure people in any newsroom. We serve at the pleasure of publishers whose vision of the future may well conflict with our own. Most of us know we�re one heated argument away from the �resignation to pursue other interests.� Many editors have drawn their own line in the sand, �this far and no more.� Increasingly those editors have had to face that line and decide if they really mean it. Many did mean it and are gone/Steve Smith, Still A Newspaperman. More here. ( Full post )

Duncan Twitter: Duncan Makes No Statement (DFO)

Twitter: Duncan said he has no statement. "I was just going to sit and answer any questions that the government might have," he said. 14 minutes ago from web
/Meghann Cuniff, SR. More here. ( Full post )

KTVB: Men On Jury Filled w/Rage (DFO)

While the video was shown, the jurors showed extreme distress. Some of them were crying, sobbing and shaking. The men on the jury appeared to be filled with rage, and the veins in their temples were bulging/KTVB. More here (caution: graphic).
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Huckleberries Best of the INorthwest -- 8/21/08 (DFO)

Christopher Anderson/SR
A fast moving thunderstorm dumps rain and hail over Spokane Washington Thursday August 21, 2008. The storm left almost an inch of hail in the Spokane Valley, causing a rash of traffic accidents. The photo was taken looking east from the Palisades Park area atop the Sunset Hill. ( Full post )

Idaho Blogs -- Idaho Falls Gives AP Notice, Too (DFO)

Editor and Publisher (the newspaper industry�s trade publication) reports that the Idaho Falls Post-Register has given notice to the AP that it will drop the service in two years, in August 2010. Anyone familiar with how the mews media actually work will know this to be a shocker, and maybe an indicator of one of the places where newspapers are going in years to come. The Post-Register is independently and locally owned, which on one hand mean its financial pressures (still quite real) probably are less than at many chain newspapers. But it also means the paper is more flexible, and may be looking at options still burbling through some chain bureaucracies/Randy Stapilus, Ridenbaugh Press. More here.

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Smith: Why We Demanded To See Video (DFO)

We didn't ask that the video be shown. The decision to show the video in court was made by Judge Lodge. If the tape had not been placed in evidence, we certainly wouldn't have sought it out. I know emotion clouds the larger issues. But our view is that courts are open to citizens. That is our system of justice. Holding back evidence shown in court isn't censorship. It violates constitutional protections in place to ensure the justice system works and defendants receive a fair trial. If we were simply interested in sensationalism. You would be seeing a lot more detail in our reporting. ( Full post )

Russell, Smith To Be On Mack Show @ 11:05 (DFO)

A few minutes ago, Cabbage Boy asked why the SR demanded that the Duncan's twisted video be shown. You can hear the answer straight from the horse's mouth. Eye On Boise blogger Betsy Russell and Smith will be on Rebecca Mack's On The Record at 11:05 on KJRB-790 AM. Or click on the SRadio bug at the right sometime after the show when it's posted. ( Full post )

Foster: Desperate R's Lying About Minnick House (DFO)

Walt Minnick and his family do not live in the Second Congressional District. They live in the First. Moreover, they have owned property (and paid property taxes) in the First Congressional District, near their current home, for 25 years. Their plans have been to build a new home on that property, but like many people they have been unable to sell an old home, which is in the Second District. When it sells, they will begin construction on the new home, just down the road from their current residence outside Boise in the First District. ( Full post )

Gene Upshaw, NFL Hall Of Famer, 63, RIP (DFO)

Paul Sancya/AP Photo File
NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw talks with reporters in Detroit, in this Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006 file photo. The Hall of Fame football player and longtime NFL Players Association executive director Upshaw died Wednesday, according to the NFL players' union. The former offensive lineman had been fighting pancreatic cancer. He was 63. Upshaw played with the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders from 1967 until 1981. He was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and an 11-time All-Pro. ( Full post )

Reporter Gourges, Rides, Tries Not To Puke (DFO)

Item: Tri-City Herald reporter finds out just how many rides she could go on after gorging on fair food/Laura Kate Zaichkin, Tri-City Herald

More Info: I thought my personal trainer was going to have a heart attack when I told her my story assignment for Wednesday. "I'm eating as much fair food as I possibly can," I said as she turned several shades of furious red. "And then after I'm done stuffing myself, I'm going to ride the carnival rides and try not to puke." ( Full post )

APhoto of the Day -- 8/21/08 (DFO)

Keith Johnson/Deseret News, AP
Davis County Commissioner Alan Hansen kisses "Reno", a quarter horse owned by Scott Bass who works for the county, in Farmington, Ut., Tuesday. I'll tell you why later. You write the cutline. ( Full post )

GOP: Minnick's Primary House in 2nd District (DFO)

The Idaho Republican Party has learned Democrat Walter Minnick, a candidate for Idaho�s 1st Congressional District, paid his 2008 property taxes earlier this year and claimed a property tax exemption for his primary residence, located in Idaho�s 2nd Congressional District. Norm Semanko, Chairman of the Idaho Republican Party, commented, �It reminds me of �Where�s Waldo?� Where is Walter Minnick�s primary place of residence? Does he live at the location where he�s registered to vote? Or does he live at the location where he�s claiming a property tax exemption of $100,000? Where�s Walter�s house?�/Sid Smith, Idaho GOP executive director. More here. ( Full post )

Weird: Turn On, Tune In, Drop ... Drawers? (DFO)

Authorities are worried a tainted batch of illegal drugs has found its way to Spokane. The clue: Several reports of disoriented individuals stripping naked and defecating in public without any recollection of what they'd just done/Jody Lawrence-Turner. More here. ( Full post )

NIC Trustee Filings Now On (DFO)

The deadline for filing a declaration of candidacy for the two open positions on the North Idaho College Board of Trustees is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2. NIC is governed by a five-member board of trustees elected from within Kootenai County for staggered terms. Seat A and Seat B, currently held by Judy Meyer and Mic Armon respectively, will appear on this year�s general election ballot during Idaho�s general election. Both positions are four-year terms/NIC Press Release. More here. ( Full post )

AM Headlines -- 8/21/08 (DFO)

Taryn Hecker/SR Prairie Voice
Satchwell Farms Manager Wade McLean shows how tall the peppermint has grown in his field off Hayden Avenue. "Peppermint grows up, falls down and grows up again," the 58-year-old farmer said. "About the second or third time it grows is when you cut it." Harvest begins next week. Prairie Voice story by Taryn Hecker/SR here. ( Full post )