We have 4 more weeks until the Idaho GOP primary, and the Phil Hart wing of the local Republican Party is drooling at the possibility of winning seats now held by Rep. Luke Malek, Commissioner Dan Green and Sheriff Ben Wolfinger. It can happen if Independents and unregistered Republicans sit on the sidelines in the closed GOP primary.
Kim Darby, left and Brigette Haskew of Petal Pushers unload their flowers in the parking lot of Falls Club bar in Post Falls on Monday. Their locally grown plants are for sale 7 days a week.
In his weekly column, Chris Carlson/Carlson Chronicles summarizes the four candidates running for Idaho Supreme Court justice, to replace retiring Justice Jim Jones, and comes to the same conclusion as I did re: which one is best. You'll have to read until the end to find out who is the choice of Carlson & Huckleberries ...
In its editorial Sunday, the Coeur d'Alene Press encourages the city of Post Falls to consider naming something after former mayor Clay Larkin. Writes the Press: "We contend that nobody has had a greater impact on Post Falls growth than Larkin." What do you think?
The Cutline Contest today features two students from Wellesley College cheering on runners at the 120th Boston Marathon. Weekend Winner: Phaedrus.
Idaho state schools Superintendent Sherri Ybarra is on her post-legislative session tour, addressing education officials – and some lawmakers – at gatherings around the state about what came out of the session for Idaho schools. She's upbeat, cheering funding for teacher pay, school district operation, a new literacy initiative and more ...
Scanner Traffic for Monday PM (17 items & counting + link to AM Scanner Traffic with 14 more items) includes female who suffered serious injury when she rolled her Subaru wagon on Highway 95, south of the Coeur d'Alene Casino ...
Huckleberries asked state Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d'Alene, about the attack flier that was mailed to House District 4 recently by Idaho Freedom Action. The flier attacks Malek for 4 votes, including (the 2nd from the top) allegedly voting to begin Obamacare expansion in Idaho. Luke tells Huckleberries that he didn't vote on that bill.
You need look no more to see who the local Tea Party considers to be its "stars." The Hayden Area Tea Party has scheduled a "Meet and Greet" gathering for the candidates it supports Wednesday. Its "stars" include Art Macomber (for Rep. Luke Malek's seat), "constitutional sheriff" wannabe John Green, and Rep. Vito Barbieri. See all the "stars" below
On her Facebook wall, state Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, posted that she has been the target of two recent mailings that landed in district mailboxes, slamming her and publishing unflattering photos.
Idaho was again one of just three states to get a failing grade when it comes to transparency in government spending, according to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s annual “Follow the Money” report. California and Alaska were the other two. The three states also got “F” grades in the 2015 report.
The city of Sandpoint will start work soon on the first public pilot project with Solar Roadways Inc., the North Idaho startup that aims to transform roads, sidewalks and parking lots into heavy-duty solar surfaces capable of generating power and melting ice. The city has received a $48,734 Idaho Gem Grant from the state Department of Commerce.
The Coeur d'Alene Fire Department recently started a training program to give high school seniors a "backstage look" at what it's like to be a firefighter. Craig Etherton, fire inspector for the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department, said the Fire Cadet Program is designed for students who are looking at public safety as a career.
Today, On the Waterfront (flying solo), I saw 2 guys from a sign company taking down the cross beams for that "Welcome to Coeur d'Alene" sign that had stood for decades along Northwest Boulvard, near Mullan Road (now Fort Grounds Drive). And the place 20 feet above Sherman Ave from which 3 young adults fell when a parapet gave way over the weekend.
Huckleberries hears that ... the North Idaho College Board of Trustees is meeting tonight to hammer out zones for November's trustee races. Trustees Ron Nilson and Todd Banducci supported 2016 Idaho legislation that created the zones. However, they don't like the fact that they are both in the same zone in a map created by a GIS specialist.
The Washington Post has won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting. The Post’s staff was honored Monday for creating and using a national database to illustrate how often and why police shoot to kill. The Post found that in 2015, on-duty police officers shot and killed 990 people nationwide.
The first candidate forum for the four rivals lining up to be Idaho’s next Supreme Court justice initially was announced to include just three of the four, but now all candidates say they’ll participate: attorney Robyn Brody of Rupert, Judge Sergio Gutierrez of Nampa, deputy AG Clive Strong of Boise, and state Sen. Curt McKenzie of Nampa.
The daily roundup of AM Headlines includes athletes who have run in every Bloomsday race getting together for another run. Also: County jobless rate drops to 3.8%/Press, Clive Strong seeks Supeme Court seat/Press, Waste Management requests pact do-over/Press, CdA school district tightens open enrollment/Press + more ...
Scanner Traffic for Monday AM (14 items & counting) includes male who was making trouble at NIC Molsted Library and now has been trespassed from all college property.
Dena Darrow, a Coeur d'Alene certified public accountant, has been hired as Kootenai County finance director, according to an announcement by County Clerk Jim Brannon. Darrow began work today. “But we’re most excited about her track record of leading teams toward continuous financial process improvement under tight deadlines."
In the weekend poll, a plurality of Hucks Nation said it hired an accountant or professional tax firm like H&R Block to handle income taxes this year. Less than 10% does its taxes by hand. Today's Poll: How did you do overall (federal/state) re: annual income taxes?
Politics doesn't dominate the lives of seniors in Idaho, according to Chuck Malloy of Idaho Politics Weekly. After all, there's not much that the politicians can do to dismantle Social Security or Medicare. But Tom Trail, the state president of AARP, warns Idaho seniors that the ought to be paying attention.
On Saturday, former Coeur d'Alene councilman Mike Kennedy delivered a wonderful eulogy to his "Uncle Annie," the family nickname for Anna Pearce, the woman we knew as actress Patty Duke. His eulogy pulls back the curtain on Mike's relationship with "Uncle Annie" as tenant (Mike) and landlord (his aunt). It'll bring a smile.
A Coeur d’Alene sex offender faces as much as 55 years in prison for an assault on a coworker last fall. Jason A. Edwards, 45, who worked at the Coeur d’Alene Press, pleaded guilty Monday morning to first-degree attempted kidnapping, battery with intent to commit a serious felony and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
In his column in the Lewiston Tribune Saturday, conservative Michael Costello writes that Democrats have changed their tune re: free speech. During the George Bush years, Costello writes, Democrats defending their dissent as "highest form of patriotism." But they're not so quick to defend criticism of global warming.
D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.
