Thank You, Judge Judd
First District Judge James Judd restored some of my flagging faith in the judiciary Tuesday by rejecting the Coeur d’Alene School District’s attempt to skirt the voters. School officials had asked Judd - rather than the district’s patrons - for approval to build a new administration building. They had most of their ducks in a row, too. Seems they’d found money in the budget to build the project without raising taxes. However, they couldn’t persuade the good judge that their current building has outlived its usefulness and a new one is “necessary.” That finding was critical. Judd prevented a precedent from being set. If a worthy (but unnecessary) project could escape voter approval, school officials would be sorely tempted to run other building needs through the courts, too. Remember, district patrons had ranked the need for a new administration building 118th of 120. Give Judge Judd a helping of Sweet Potatoes.
Peru could show US a thing or two
Hmmm. Do you suppose the FBI and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms could hire the Peruvian SWAT team that rescued 71 hostages Tuesday in Lima, Peru? Seems Peru could teach our Justice Department how to handle hostage situations and rescue people. Take the Branch Davidian disaster at Waco, Texas. Ple-e-ease. The ATF stormed the Branch Davidian compound to look for weapons and to put an end to alleged child abuse - and wound up abusing 80-some men, women and children in the worst way possible. The feds shot holes through some and burned the rest to death. All of which U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno excused with a grave “oops.” Now, we’ve been shown the proper way to end standoffs. In the raid Tuesday, 15 people died - all 14 bad guys who’d held hostages at the Japanese ambassador’s home for four months and a Supreme Court justice. And they say Peru is a Third World country.
Barry Casebolt, 55, R.I.P.
I wasn’t a big fan of Barry Casebolt’s, the former Coeur d’Alene Press executive editor who died of a heart attack April 13 in Minnesota. Yet, he stood out in an otherwise forgettable string of top editors who have toiled since I’ve been here to steer Brand X away from controversy. In fact, Casebolt’s ultimate undoing was his column which, at times, featured a fictitious Post Falls coffee klatch and upset people - which, in turn, upset the Press’ powers that be. In the end, the muckety-mucks tried to rein in the column, prompting Casebolt to give them an ultimatum. His delighted superiors responded to it by saying: So long. Then, they hibernated again.
, DataTimes MEMO: D.F. Oliveria’s “Hot Potatoes” runs Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can comment on the items by calling (800) 344-6718 or (208) 765-7125 or by sending e-mail to daveo@spokesman.com.