The Hot Seat A Weekly Look At People And Issues In The News

Out, damned tweeties! Out, I say!

What’s Spokane coming to? It used to be that a young couple could find inexpensive housing here, start a family in relative security and feather its nest. No more. Case in point - the two love birds that set up housekeeping at Fifth and Maple. City Hall gave them the boot faster than a 1/1000th shutter speed after they tried to claim squatter’s rights. Okay, okay. They really were love birds - sparrows, to be exact. And they were creating a safety hazard by claiming squatter’s rights on a stoplight. But they were so-o-o cute. Kootchy-kootchy. Couldn’t the city have provided subsidized housing?

Latter-day Antoinette: Let them breathe smoke

Tobacco executive Charles Harper is an equal opportunity kind of guy. He believes everyone has a right to smoke or at least contend with second-hand smoke - even his grandchildren. Quoth he: “If the children don’t like to be in a smoky room … they’ll leave.” And if they happen to be infants? Well, says Harper, “at some point, they begin to crawl” (which makes babies more advanced than Harper, who is limited to slithering). Take the money and run

What would you do if a man offered you $5,000 to kiss him on public television? You’d kiss him, of course. We Hot Seat writers would, too. That’s (smooch) a lot of car payments (smooch, smooch). Boise Bureau Chief Betsy Russell, however, has more principles than we do (shaddup!). She declined when congressional candidate William Levinger made the offer, holding a fist full of dollars. Shortly afterward, Levinger stripped half naked in the studio and was hauled away. Hey, a guy’s gotta do something to draw attention away from incumbent U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-Idaho.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 3 Photos

MEMO: The Hot Seat is an irreverent look at controversial issues in the news. The views expressed are those of the writer. Today’s Hot Seat was written by Dave Oliveria.