A hero’s due – at last

Finally, Kootenai County has done right by Pappy Boyington, the Coeur d’Alene native who became one of the most decorated heroes of World War II. On a 2-0 vote, with a curious abstention by Chairman Rick Currie, commissioners heeded the continuing plea by local veterans to name the county airport field after Boyington. Commissioners Todd Tondee and Rich Piazza brushed aside lame excuses by the airport board, Currie and others that the name change would cause confusion among pilots and/or that Boyington had character flaws. In other words, the war hero drank too much after his military discharge and his days commanding the famous Black Sheep Squadron. (Then, you might drink, too, if you’d risked your life regularly in dogfights with enemy gunners and spent 20 months as a POW.) Some contend Pappy suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Those who belittle Boyington’s bravery are no better than the UWashington student senators who balked at erecting a campus monument to Pappy because they thought a flier who’d shot down 26 planes was a poor role model. At least the kids can be excused for being young and naïve.

Smooth? Wait’ll studs season

Seems I-90 through downtown Spokane is open and “smooth as a baby’s rear,” according to colleague Amy Cannata/Getting There. Commuters, of course, are thrilled that construction delays are in their rearview mirror (at least until the whir of studded tires and the roar of big trucks create the next set of grooves). The happy news almost compels me to discard my studded tires in the garage. Almost … Question: You load 16 tons (of sand) and what do you get? If you have engineer/artist Scott Dodson, of Post Falls, nearby, you could get a 14th-century Gothic sandcastle, 12 feet high and 10 feet wide, that delighted Art on the Green crowds in Coeur d’Alene last weekend. Give Scott a helping of Sweet Potatoes … French Fries (or, Hot Potatoes’ ranking of the 2007 Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre season: 1. “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” 2. “The Full Monty,” 3. “Putting It Together” (Stephen Sondheim music review), and 4. “Kiss Me Kate.”

‘B-Word’ has multiple meanings

Didja hear about the councilwoman from Brooklyn who wants to ban the B-word (derogatory term for female) from New York’s vernacular? Well, exec Richard Davis of the Association of Washington Business is ready to jump on the ban-wagon. Tongue firmly cheeked, he e-mailed Hot Potatoes: “After the last M’s home stand, I thought the B-word was ‘Boston.’ ” … A Moment of Silence – for the Missoulian, a midsize Lee Enterprises paper in northwest Montana, for publishing guest opinions in the place of its own editorials for the last three months, according to the Missoula Independent. And then not telling folks why. A paper without an editorial voice is one without a soul. F’shame … This edition of Hot Potatoes was brought to you by the No. 13. Or the small percentage in a Harris Poll that believes journalism has “very great prestige,” which is better than only seven other listed professions. Or I coulda been a fireman. I coulda been somebody.