Item: County drops suit, wants petitions by June 11/Tom Hasslinger, Coeur d'Alene Press

More Info: Kootenai County dismissed a suit Wednesday that had asked a judge to rule on the deadline for recall petitions. So, the 5 p.m. June 19 deadline includes the time it will take Kootenai County Clerk Cliff Hayes to certify the signatures. “I’m not satisfied with it, but I understand how they came to that,” Hayes said of the Secretary of State’s interpretation of the statutes governing the recall process. “(The conflicting statute language) is obviously an error by the legislature. They’ll fix it in January, I guess.”

Question: Are you satisfied that the 75-day deadline includes time to verify signatures?

Joker: Can’t we just solve this (recall/McEuen flap) WWE style and have an six-person tag match in a steel cage? Imagine the revenues it would generate. I see Mad Mary Souza trying to give Sandi “Lookn’ Fierce” Bloem a pile driver only to be blocked by Chicago Mike’s vicious clothesline off the top rope. Then Mary uses a hidden tape in her tights to knock Chicago Mike out. Bloem uses the McEuen Ruin, a choke slam to put Mad Mary out of commission. Frank Orzell uses his patented “Get off my lawn” body slam on Woody McEvers, but the Woodman recovers to apply his special sleeper hold called the “Doobie do” and Frank is sleeping like a baby. Woody is disqualified when he leaves the cage to get a snack. Meanwhile, Kathy Sims is using her URL claw, which cuts off blood to the brain on Bloem. It looks bad for Bloem when Deanna Goodlander, aka the Legendary Lee, uses an amazing submission hold called the Tubbs Hill leg breaker, forcing Sims to submit. What a match … Pay per view revenues. The possibilities are endless.

Question: Who would win a tag team match featuring Bloem-Kennedy-Goodlander on one side & Souza-Orzell-Sims on the other?

One of the largest churches in Kootenai County is establishing a campus in Coeur d'Alene. Real Life Ministries, which has around 7,000 attending weekend services at its Post Falls site, will hold its first official service in the Lake City on Easter Sunday. “This is a community where we don't feel like we've had a lot of influence in the past, especially in the downtown area,” said Craig Miles, lead pastor for the Coeur d'Alene campus. “We want to help reach this area a little better.” Real Life's home will be at 610 N. Fourth, in a decades-old brick church building that was most recently used by First Christian Church. First Christian had struggled to attract younger families, and its attendance had been declining. It closed early this year and put the church on the market/Bill Buley, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

Question: Do you attend Real Life Ministries in Post Falls? Would you be interested in transferring to new church in Coeur d'Alene?

Joker paints a bleak future for DFO after Mary Souza and OpenCDA.com seize control of Coeur d'Alene City Hall and Steve Adams is mayor: The cell didn’t have any windows and the metal floor made Dave’s back ache. The lights in the cell would flicker on and off. “Fight the power…” bounced off the steel walls as the Public Enemy roared from a speaker built into the ceiling. When the music stopped, he could he faint screams from the other prisoners in the camp. Then the door opened, a small portable TV with DVD was rolled into the cell by two elderly men wearing theater masks. One of the old guys plugged the unit into the set. The screen flickered. Mary Souza appeared. “Hello. Welcome to the Corrupt Alene education center. We will teach you why your government is whorehouse. We will show you how LCDC is a socialist organization led by evil people. When you leave, or rather, if you leave. You will have the knowledge to make a difference. This is the beginning.” The men removed the TV and left. In the door way, a tall muscular man with a billy club sneered, “Get up. I am your huckleberry now.”

Question: Feel free to join in on the possible post-Bloem apocalypse?

In case you're wondering whether Reagan Republicans have gone off deep end in demonizing Mayor Sandi Bloem and three council members targetted for recall, Jeff Ward calls for their ouster in his newsletter, concluding with “Now it seems the citizens of Coeur d'Alene must determine whether they are “disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable” or will they “right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” Seems to me that the same language can be used for the dysfunctional Kootenai County Republicans who brought controversial Richard Mack to town to speak to the GOP Lincoln Day Dinner and seem to oppose every project that improves Coeur d'Alene. (Note: Reagan Republicans opposed Mack's speech, so they get things right occasionally. But not this time.)

Thoughts?

Huckleberries has names of 20 individuals who signed paperwork to launch recall against Mayor Sandi Bloem and Councilmen Woody McEvers, Deanna Goodlander and Mike Kennedy. They are: Frank Orzell, Robert Hough, Kenneth Stuver (hard to read printed name) Craig Shaw, Phil Mott, Jacqueline Mayo, Kenneth Mayo, William E. “Dusty” Rhoads, Terri Seymour, Gary Ingram, Julie Clark, Jacqueline A. Wright, William Wright, Linda MacNeil, Bruce MacNeil, Keith J. Reila (hard to read printed name), J. Marvin Lekstrum, James E. Doty, Susan Snedaker and Kathleen Sims. You can read recall petition paperwork here.

Question: Any names on this list surprise you?

A child molestation suspect who has been missing since escaping a manhunt in North Idaho in December was arrested Thursday in Los Angeles. Nathaniel Robert Howell, 32, was booked into jail in Los Angeles County about 3:52 p.m. Thursday, according to online records. Howell had been wanted on a felony warrant in Kootenai County charging him with four counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child and five counts of sexual exploitation. Coeur d'Alene police notified the public about his fugitive status after he ran from police through the woods in the 1500 block of South Sagle Road last December/Meghann M. Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels. More here.

John Green, one of three Republican candidates for sheriff, used the St. Patrick's Day Parade in downtown Coeur d'Alene Saturday to advertise his campaign.

The City of Coeur d'Alene announced a new web page called McEuen Park Currents has been created and can be found on the city's park's department's website, www.cdaidparks.org. The McEuen Park Currents page currently includes access to a presentation on the project given at the City Council's March 6 meeting. The council approved a contract with Miller/Stauffer Architects (AKA Team McEuen) on March 6. Architectural and engineering services for the project will proceed on March 22/Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

Thoughts?

“Spring continues to tease us in between days of cold and rain. We took a long walk along the lake front, taking time to play in the very spot on the beach where we will be swimming come July,” writes Idaho Dad/A Family Runs Through It. “In fact, the rocks in the foreground will be completely submerged in a few months. One of our summer traditions is to swim out about 100 feet from shore and try to find the giant boulder under the water.” More here.

• Walk now, scapegoat later/Arch Druid
• Where has media been?/Dogwalk Musings
• Out with a bang, and: Witnessing duplicity/Fort Boise
• If it wasn't so sad, it would be funny/From A Simple Mind
• March cavalcade of food porn/Get Out! North Idaho
• Alice's Grill moves into Mini Mart/INW Business Watch
• Yes … et cetera/Slight Detour
• Sundance Mountain fire outlook/3Rs

HucksOnline numbers (for Tuesday): 8864/5156, and (for Monday): 8790/5159

Investigators in the officer-shooting death of Justin Todd, 33, of Coeur d'Alene this week have discovered a wig, clothing and false identifications in Todd's vehicle, according to a Kootenai County Sheriff's Department news release. They also found evidence that the vehicle was recently painted from blue to white and found six cans of black spray paint that may have been planned to use to paint the car again. Also found in the car were a brassknuckle/stun gun combination weapon, a knife, three cellular telephones, drug paraphernalia and a police scanner that was operating and tuned to local law enforcement frequencies. News release here.

Thoughts?

Rep. Raul Labrador will be at The Coeur d'Alene Resort March 24 for an hour-long town hall style campaign event. From 2-3 p.m.in The Resort's Shore Room, the Republican congressman will discuss “issues that matter to Idahoans, and how Congressman Raul Labrador has kept his promises of 2010.” The event is hosted by The Raul Labrador for Idaho Committee/Coeur d'Alene Press.

DFO: The date for Congressman Labrador's town hall meeting coincides with the annual Kootenai County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner. Which seems to indicate that the congressman will attend the speech by controversial speaker Richard Mack.

Question: Does anyone know which other high-ranking elected officials in Idaho will attend the Lincoln Day Dinner?

Investigators said today that more than one officer fired at a North Idaho fugitive early Monday, killing him. Police previously had not confirmed whether one or multiple officers fired at Justin Earl Nicholas Todd, 33,  (pictured) after a chase began when an electronic monitor alerted law enforcement to Todd’s vehicle because of his fugitive status. The Post Falls police officers involved in the shooting are on administrative leave as the investigation continues. Investigators today continue to conduct interview and process evidence, which they said could take several days to complete, according to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department. Lab results can take several more weeks. The Kootenia County Prosecutor’s Office will decide whether the shooting was justified/SR. More here.

A North Idaho neighborhood is coming together to stand up against crime. The Landings at Waterford in Coeur d'Alene is organizing a block watch to cover over seven hundred homes. John Rant is the man spearheading the effort. After his neighborhood fell victim to vandalism this summer, he realized something had to be done. “Enough is enough of these punks coming into a nice place like this and messing it up,” he said. It wasn't just the vandalism that triggered this community-wide effort.  Residents also fell victim to burglaries, including the break-in spree that plagued the county for months last year/Anusha Roy, KXLY. More here. (KXLY photo)

Question: Do you belong to a Neighborhood Block Watch group?

The transformation of midtown continues with the proposed 2012 construction of a mix-use retail and housing development along the Coeur d'Alene corridor. The Housing Company, developer of the proposed project, will provide an update to midtown stakeholders and the general public March 14 at 6 p.m. at the American Legion, 754 N. 4th Street, across from the site. In its continuing midtown revitalization efforts, the Lake City Development Corporation plans to partner with the Idaho Housing and Finance Association and The Housing Company for the mix-use development to promote the business environment in the sector and facilitate development of new workforce housing. The proposed project will include 9,000-square-feet of commercial space on the street level and 45 workforce residential rental units on three floors above/Keith Erickson for Lake City Development Corp.

Question: Do you support ongoing efforts to redevelopment Coeur d'Alene's Midtown area?

When the Coeur d'Alene City Council meets tonight, one of the items on the agenda is a $1.96 million contract with Miller/Stauffer Architects “AKA Team McEuen” for architectural and engineering services for the McEuen Field project. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the Community Room at the Coeur d'Alene Public Library/Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

While Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was in Ohio battling for a win there, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter visited Coeur d'Alene to stump for Romney ahead of today's Idaho caucus. Otter on Monday laid out the reasons for his endorsing Romney to a crowd of nearly 100 people at The Coeur d'Alene Resort. He said Romney is the best candidate because of his experience turning around the Salt Lake City Olympics, his performance as governor of Massachusetts and his business background. Otter said he's also most capable of beating President Barack Obama in the general election. He said Romney cut taxes in Massachusetts 19 times, and he vetoed more than 800 bills. Romney left the state with a surplus of $2 billion at the end of his governorship/David Cole, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here. (AP file photo: Mitt Romney and Butch Otter take part in a campaign stop in Boise Feb. 17)

Question: Anyone attend the Romney rally? Impression?

Gov. Butch Otter will be in Coeur d'Alene on Monday, the eve of Super Tuesday, for a meet and greet hosted by the Idaho campaign team for Mitt Romney.  The event takes place from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. There is an online form to sign up to attend. It can be found on Romney's campaign website. Otter is co-chair of Romney's statewide steering committee/Coeur d'Alene Press.

CDAJim: I think there is some confusion regarding whether Mitt will or will not be in CdA today. KXLY TV just had a report that Mitt will be here along with Butch, but I think Mitt will be campaigning in Ohio today and in Mass. tomorrow.

Question: Would you rather see Mitt Romney in person in Coeur d'Alene today — or Gov. Butch Otter serving as a stand-in?

The city of Coeur d'Alene wants to add some rules to its outdoor food and alcohol serving policy to help clean up behavior around bars and restaurants with seating on public sidewalks. The changes would clarify expectations for businesses that serve outdoors thanks to the city's food and alcohol outdoor service policy, which has been changed several times the last three years. “It's a balancing act,” said Mike Kennedy, councilman, on attempting to clean up late-night behavior outside establishments that serve alcohol, versus coming down too heavy handed on businesses. “And it's not an easy one.” The proposed additions would require businesses that have the outdoor permits to play a more active role in policing unacceptable behavior in their own designated areas/Tom Hasslinger, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here. (SR file photo of a mother & her son dining outside the Beacon)

Question: Do you enjoy dining or drinking outside restaurants or bars in downtown Coeur d'Alene?

Newt Gingrich surrounded by a crowd of admirers during his townhall meeting at the Coeur d'Alene Inn Monday night. (Photo special to HucksOnline)

• Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
• Police Guild calls Thoma behavior 'reprehensible'/SR
• Coeur d'Alene takes action against pants droppers/AP
• SCRAPS investigates huge animal cruelty case near Elk/SR
• Blanchette: GU's wins coming harder than good ol' days/SR
• Idaho's Kristin Armstrong leads New Zealand stage race/AP
• Half of Idaho kids now qualify for free or reduced-price lunch/AP
• Montana high school principal apologizes for Valentine's newspaper/AP
• UM waited week to give cops name of rape suspect who's fled/Gwen Florio, Missoulian
• Parents: Idaho boys basketball players sat naked on school bus/Whitney Hise, KLEW
• Orbusmax Special: 9YO Washington boy in court to face charges in shooting of schoolmate here