The lawyer for Tina Jacobson has requested that the blog post notice of an upcoming court hearing:

Dear Mr. Swinton:

I request that your client post on its HuckleberriesOnline website the following notice related to the pending Spokesman-Review motion to quash the Subpoena Duces Tecum.  If this request occasions any difficulty please advise.  Thank you in advance for the professional courtesy in accommodating this notice to the effected bloggers. (Full notice here)

C. Matthew Andersen
Attorney for Tina Jacobson

• You can find links to the background of this post here and the SR motion to quash the subpoena here and here.
    

DFO’s interview with Kerri Thoreson Feb. 20, 2012

Some of you have asked whether KVNI 1080 (ESPN 1080) provided a copy of my interview with Kerri Thoreson Monday morning. The station graciously did so this morning. You can listen to it here by clicking link above. Kerri provided the photo.

Super Sub Cindy snapped this photo of DFO in the foreground with Bent, Mechanic Man, and JeanieSpokane in the background at Blogfest 2012 at the Fort Ground Grill Saturday. You can read about the latest Blogfest, celebrating the 9th anniversary of HucksOnline, and see more photos of the event here.

I'm rarely as baffled by a local election as I am by the one in Coeur d'Alene today. My gut tells me that Reagan Republican candidates Dan Gookin and Steve Adams are in good shape. They have the gale-wind support of dominant Republicans and 3 issues on their side (in descending order): McEuen Field, high-end city salaries, and perennial whipping boy LCDC. A long-time resident of Coeur d'Alene told me at the Viks playoff game last week that he's usually a Bloem administration supporter. But the lack of an advisory vote on McEuen Field bothers him. Another long-time resident told me he supports Sandi Bloem & her council because he's tired of seeing McEuen Field under-utilized. Gookin's attempt to tie well-known, well-respected former legislator George Sayler to unpopular President Barack Obama underscored the lengths challengers/Republicans were willing to go to win these spots. It's hard to match that passion on the other side. I hope I'm wrong. Edinger, despite his misstep w/nepotism involving his grandchildren, should survive for another term on the council. I expect Hayden Mayor Ron McIntire and Post Falls Councilman Kerri Thoreson & Skip Hissong to win re-election, too. The race between quiet-but-competent incumbent Scott Grant & Reagan Republican-backed Joe Malloy will test RR partisan clout in Post Falls — DFO.

Question: How successful will Reagan Republican candidates be tonight?

At Blogfest 2011 (aka Hucks Summer Bentfest), Don Sausser catches DFO & DanG hobnobbing while waiting for Bent to finish preparing the sumptious chicken & beef barbecue for the event at Steve Widmyer's Fort Ground Grill. You write the cutline. You can see the rest of Don's photos here. (The winner of this cutline contest will be awarded a $10 gift certificate to the Fort Ground Grill.)

Photos of Blogfest 2011:

• Stebbijo's photos
• Nic's photos
• Cis's photos
• JeanC's photos

DFO: Monster H/T to Steve Widmyer & his Fort Ground Grill for hosting Blogfest 2011; KeithinCDA for doling out the latest home-made brews prepared by Bent, Stickman, & him; and for Bent and his amazing BBQ.

Top Cutlines:

• 1. Dan is thinking as DFO is expressing his viewpoint of the day, “I can’t believe you and Herb wore matching shirts” — Stebbijo.
• 2. DFO signals a hand count of the only issues on which he and DanG can agree: One, Bent’s BBQ was great, two, his brew was terrific, three, Steve’s place was the perfect venue, four, Hawaiian shirts, even on old guys, are cool, and five, no, despite the fact that they both seemed to toot their own horns alot, Mary Souza is no relation to John Phillip — JohnA.
• 3. (tie) We were arguing over rock-paper-scissors and how utterly ridiculous it is that paper can beat rock. I mean, c’mon. Really! — DanG; and: DFO shows the Gookster how he almost lost a finger in a keyboard battle to Mary Souzster — CoeurGenX.
• HM: Poolman, CoeurGenX, & everyone else. Terrific cutlines today.

DFO and his daughter-in-law, Sweet Stephanie, meet “Bull Alligator” outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at the University of Florida during DFO's recent vacay to Gainesville. You write the cutline.

Top Cutline:

• 1. Mary Souza’s heart stopped when she received this postcard from Florida, with nothing written on the back except the note: “You’re next!” — Moscow Minidoka.
• 2. On DFO’s recent visit to Florida. He found himself in the market for a pair of alligator boots. Being the manly man, he decided to craft them himself but needed an alligator. His problem was solved when he was able to sweet talk Stephanie in to acting as bait — Dennis.
• 3. Sweat Stephanie quickly learns it is not easy being an Oliveria — Jack.
• HM: Formerly Sandpoint

Why does the relatively small Spokane airport have full-body scanners are security checkpoints, when a large airport like the one in Orlando, Fla., doesn't? I got virtually naked for the TSA — a female security worker at that — for the first time Saturday, Feb. 5, at the Spokane airport en route to Orlando. The X-ray exam was over in moments. I didn't even have time to blush. And the guy with the plastic gloves smiled when he waved me through the security checkpoint. I'm glad I didn't have to get up close and personal with him, too. However, I was surprised that the jam-packed Orlando airport on the return trip had the traditional security stations that require you to strip off belts, shoes, and anything else that makes the alarm ring. But no body scanners. I don't know if I felt safer after going through the airport at Spokane than I did at Orlando — DFO.

Question: Have you been through a full-body scanner at airport security yet? What do you think of the process?

If I tell you a secret, will you promise not to tell anyone else? I've been driving with an expired driver's license for the last 2-plus months. Yeah, yeah, I know we discussed expiration dates for driver's licenses some time ago. But I completely forgot that my license expired on my birthday Nov. 20 — until an observant airport security guard at the Orlando, Fla., airport spotted my oversight Saturday morning. I didn't know why she was holding staring at my license while she carefully turned it over a couple of times. “Do you know this license is expired?” she asked, in a voice that wasn't that pleasant. Hunh?! was the only reply I could muster. I imagined myself being stuck at the Orlando airport until I could figure out a way to prove who I was. The guard continued: “You know this is 2011 and not 2010, don't you.” I was a deer in the headlights. Mebbe she pitied me because I didn't look like a domestic terrorist. Or mebbe she was a Florida Gators fan. I was wearing my new Florida Gators T-shirt en route back home, with stops in Philadelphia and Denver. She let me continue through security. Moments ago, I re-upped at the local DMV. I'm legal again — and don't have to worry about an expired license for another 8 years.

Question: Do you know when your driver's license expires?

My Huckleberries Online crowd is easily distracted. I posted a bushy-tailed predator photographed along the Kalispell Bay beach path by the Priest Lake Photos Facebook crowd on Tuesday – and asked whether the critter was a coyote or wolf. The overwhelming consensus (including from the Sandpoint F&G office) leaned “Wile E.” Too small and the markings were wrong for Br’er Wolf. Then, the conversation focus switched to the proper pronunciation for “coyote.” One claimed “coyote” with a long-E is a dead giveaway that the speaker is a darn Easterner. Another that KYE-yoat indicates that the speaker is a Zane Gray/Louis L’Amour fan. A third opined: “The English cognate ‘coyote’ is taken directly from the Spanish word of the same spelling, in which the final “e” is pronounced (co-yo’-tay).”  Read more.

Kerri Thoreson, host of the Monday morning KVNI Main Street show, wants to know if any of you have questions that you want her to ask me when I’m on her show Monday morning (7:40 on AM-1080). Kerri posts this comment: “For anyone outside of the KVNI AM1080 broadcast range, at www.kvni.com there’s a listen live button that will let you listen on your computer. And in the interest of fair play, since Dave always solicits questions from the gallery for his blog interviews, who has a question they’d like me to ask Dave on Monday morning?”

Question: Is there anything you want to know about me? (I reserve the right to take the 5th)

Overall, for the year, precipitation is running above normal – about .75 inches above normal for Spokane and a whopping 4 inches above normal in Coeur d’Alene. Those first low elevation snowflakes may be just around the corner as some chilly, moist air makes its way into the region by the middle of this week. Average snowfall for Spokane in the month of November is 6.4 inches. Coeur d’Alene averages 7.8 inches/Michelle Boss, Handle Extra. More here.

• Huckleberries: Right, far right wings flap/DFO
  
• Boise: Complicated or not, Idaho backs amendments/Betsy Russell
• Labor department plans party at new Post Falls facility/Nils Rosdahl
• Review: Simon Sez covers all the bases around CdA/Patrick Jacobs
  
• Sandpoint: Photographer focuses on hope, foster home/Patty Hutchens

Question: What do you have yet to do to get ready for winter?

I know why local Democrats don’t field more candidates to oppose to oppose Republicans in Kootenai County races. It’s hard to persuade someone to raise thousands of dollars, take 6 months of their life off, and expect to be beaten by 55-60% of the vote. But a situation like Phil Hart’s begs the question. Why not simply get someone to serve as a name holder — or place holder — in case the Republican melts down? The Demo wouldn’t have to raise all that much money or campaign hard. Just be there to hold a Republican accountable for his actions — or votes in the previous term — in debates and newspaper interviews. It’s next to impossible to try to defeat Hart with a write-in candidacy. I applaud Demo David Larsen for stepping up as a write-in candidate in the spring primary, so House Education Chairman Bob Nonini will have to explain some of his curious positions on education, including his behind-the-scenes opposition to UI’s attempt to sign a lease for a building in Coeur d’Alene’s future Education Corridor. It’s a shame to see Rep. Phil Hart, with his myriad tax problems, running unopposed in the general election — DFO.

Here I am in the bowels of Invesco Field (Mile High Stadium, where the Denver Broncos play ball), during a tour of the facility at an honors banquet for UColorado Denver medical school graduates Friday. For some reason, this sign caught my eye. You write the cutline.

Top Cutline:

• 1. Mrs Oliveria has posted this sign on the front door of the Oliveria home to remind Dave not to bring his work home with him — CoeurGenX.
• 2. Dressed as a Republican Banker, DFO goes deep undercover to prove “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ain’t really dead after all — Formerly Sandpoint.
• 3. DFO laughs, knowing he doesn’t need no stinking access. Fresh off his powerhouse prognostication victories at: http://www.reaganreport.com/Brackets…. he will simply predict the news from now on/Terry Harris.
• HM: Digger & everyone else. (Thanks for all the chuckles).

As many of you know, son, Seth, graduated from medical school at UColorado Denver Friday, with his medical degree as well as a doctorate in neuro-science. Here, you see the young man shortly after being awarded his second degree last week, along with Mrs. O, Amy Dearest and me. Just wanted to let you know that I wasn’t entirely goofing off during my 5-plus days away from the blog. My daughter-in-law was handling the photo duties.

I didn’t realize that Dennis Mansfield or Jim Clark was taking a photo of my interview w/Raul Labrador (via Labrador Twitter) — or I might have tidied up Huckleberries Central a bit. See all my toys? I enjoyed meeting Labrador. Indeed, he’s a hard guy not to like. Wished more politicians could smile and remain friendly with the opposition no matter whether they agree or disagree.

Question: Is your desk better organized than mine?

At OpenCDA.com, the usual suspects are in full meltdown mode over Jim Brannon’s challenge to Councilman Mike Kennedy for a do-over election during the May primaries. In their usual fit of paranoia, one of the three regular commenters on the site believe the posts yesterday was my way of distancing myself from Kennedy, a regular commenter at Huckleberries Online since almost the beginning. I don’t have time to explain to the inmates at that cyber institution what constitutes news and what doesn’t online. The thread was suppose to address the reason for Brannon writing the challenge letter to Kennedy. But quickly degenerated into a critique of the current “Coffee with the Mayor” program, featuring Press Editor Mike Patrick and myself. Ah, I came out a bit on the short end of the critiques, as you might imagine. ‘Tis nice to know that I still live large in the alleged minds of the OpenCDA.com denizens. OpenCDA.com link here.

DFO: BTW, you’ll notice that Gookin hopped onto the thread above by saying he doesn’t expect to have “Coffee with the Mayor” until “we get a Mayor who represents the entire town, not just her own personality cult.”

Question: Have you seen this months’ “Coffee with the Mayor” program, featuring Mike Patrick and me? What did you think? 

So, I’m wondering what kind of gift the SR will be giving DFO for his 25 years of faithful service.

• A sliver pocket watch
• A goat
• A year’s subscription to the CDA Press

Care to venture a guess?