Do you remember the short-lived McDonalds Express restaurant on Sherman Avenue in days gone by. The Eagles building, I believe, separated it from Hudson's hamburgers. Obviously, Hudson's continues to make great hamburgers while McDonalds closed shop fairly quickly. SR photog buddy Jesse Tinsley has posted his first “then-and-now” slide show for Coeur d'Alene. Many of you know that Jesse worked in North Idaho for several years before being assigned to the downtown Spokane office. Jesse says he plans to compile then-and-now shows periodically, as he gets to Coeur d'Alene to shoot updates. Quoth: “Because I have been at the paper for over 20 years now, it seemed like a good idea to go back and  back and pull some photos and update them.”  Check out what took McDonalds place.

• Also: SR staff compiled a then-and-now slide show featuring the aftermath of the tsunami catastrophe in Japan to the tornado destruction in Alabama and other southern states here.

A bald eagle lands near another in a tree above Lake Coeur d'Alene, to wait for a catch of kokanee on Tuesday in Coeur d'Alene. The birds will soon move on from the winter feeding stop in North Idaho. You can view 7 more wonderful eagle photos by Jesse here. (AP Photo/The Spokesman-Review, Jesse Tinsley)

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• Ex-Micron exec Larry Grant eyes Idaho Demo chair/Dan Popkey, Statesman
• Highway 3 near Rose Lake open again after culvert collapse/Kootenai MPO
• Cheapest gas in Idaho? Head to Pocatello/Associated Press
• Opinion: Examination in order for Idaho Tax Commission/Spokesman-Review
• Man found dead inside Spokane Taco Bell cooler/Spokane police release
• Frosty windshield to blame for vehicle-pedestrian crash/KBOI Web team
• 3 Sandpoint businessmen face trial in gambling case/Keith Kinnaird, Bee
• Hagadone buys building for new News-Press office/Nicole Nolan, News-Press
• Man accused of church rape is in jail again for similar crime/KREM
• Boise's Bill Buckner going back to Boston area to manage team/Statesman

I wonder if OrangeTV/Get Out! North Idaho might include this bear stew among his photos of local Food Porn? Photographer Jesse Tinsley writes on Facebook: “I had never eaten bear before and I helped make bear stew recently. The meat was not gamey and very beef-like in taste and texture. Tasty.” I’ve tasted smoked bear shoulder once. More than 30 years ago. In the Flathead Valley of Montana. I did have a bit of corned beef taste. I agree with Jesse. It was tasty. But I was somewhat turned off by the idea re: what I was eating.

Question: Have you eaten any meat stranger than bear meat?

On his Facebook page, SR photog Jesse Tinsley writes: “We waited for this deer to cross a very rural highway in Lincoln County today. The fence keeps the cows in, but not deer.”

• Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
• Thursday Scanner Traffic/DFO, Huckleberries Online
• 3 men jump ship when sailboat tips near Independence Point/KREM
  
• Vacationing Irish family unhurt in 3rd Street rollover/Paul Lash, CdA Press
• Fire destroys remote cabin, owner pepper-sprayed/Brian Walker, CdA Press
• CdA council OKs 1.5% property tax hike/Alecia Warren, CdA Press
• Kootenai County completes comp plan changes/Alecia Warren, CdA Press
• 2YO found wandering on Hayden Lake Road at 3 AM/Alecia Warren, CdA Press
• No end in sight to reopen for North Idaho shooting range/KREM
• McAlister to manage Sandpoint chamber/Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce release

Jesse Tinsley aboard his Scooter is ready for summer.

With his permission, I pulled this photo of SR photog buddy Jesse Tinsley on his Scooter onto the blog to celebrate nice days and the coming of summer. Also, I wanted to mention that Scooters interest me. They don’t take up much space. They seem ideal for driving around Coeur d’Alene, Dalton Gardens and Hayden/Hayden Lake. Where the speed limits don’t go higher than 35 mph. However, they still seem a bit dangerous in a world where vehicle drivers aren’t looking for Scooters. Also, I wouldn’t know how to act if a monster Harley-Davidson pulled alongside at a traffic light, and the driver gunned his engine.

Question: Have you ever been interested in buying a Scooter? Did you? Why haven’t you?

SR photog extraordinaire Jesse Tinsley sent the photo above to me this afternoon, with this message: “Do you remember the photo I sent you for HBO of the guy where an unbroke horse flipped upside down and squashed the rider in Sept. 2007? At that time, the rider, Corey Newline of Post Falls, laid on the ground screaming in pain for several minutes before Bob McMurray told him he had to get back onto the horse.” Jesse then told me what happened to Corey when he was crushed under the note and included a note that Corey sent him recently.

Question: How do you think this turned out?