The closure of Beignets restaurant on Wall Street is a tragedy for the owners and the dozens they employed. And Spokane lost a small element of the “downtown experience” that sets this community apart from any other for 250 miles around. But for the owner, and many others, the “experience” too often includes an encounter with a sidewalk skateboarder, rowdy smokers, or shirtless young men loudly spouting f-bombs. Not the preferred ambiance for dining al fresco. Welcome to urban America. Every downtown has a population that, for reasons of homelessness, abuse, addiction or unemployment, coalesces where they find like company and a few services; food, shelter, the comfort of a crowd. Seattle’s congregates in Pioneer Square. In Portland, Pioneer Courthouse Square is the main hangout. The behavior may be off-putting, but within the law, and therefore not a police matter/Spokesman-Review Editorial Board. More here. (SR file photo: owner Judie Sowards of Beignets)

Question: Izzit just me, or does Coeur d'Alene do a considerably better job controlling the downtown than Spokane?

• Weekend Poll: A plurality of Hucks Nation say the Coeur d'Alene Police Department is handling crime/problems created by transients well. 62 of 139 respondents (44.6%) took that position. 49 of 139 respondents (36.25%) said local police weren't doing a good job handling such problems. 28 of 139 respondents (20.14%) were undecided.
• Today's Poll: Do you agree with the decision by Sandpoint to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity?

Police today arrested a convicted killer accused of trying to kill another man in a stabbing Monday night north of Coeur d’Alene. James H. Kountz, 56, was arrested about 5:40 p.m. in the same wooded area near U.S. Highway 95 and Wilbur Avenue where he stabbed another transient, James R. Hoglen, 42, on Monday. Kountz has a long criminal history that includes an involuntary manslaughter conviction in California. He was originally arrested for murder in 1989, said Sgt. Christie Wood, spokeswoman for the Coeur d’Alene Police Department. Kountz has amassed arrests from traveling all over the United States, Wood said. He’s been in the Coeur d’Alene area for about a year. Wood said police have arrested him three times for aggravated battery and contacted him several other times for trespassing/Meghann Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels. More here.

Question: Is it time to clean out the transient camp in the woods behind Target?