Parting Shot -- 4.19.16
Danny Marks, 16, of MAST Academy, works on his teams robot during a VEX Robotics Competition Nothing But Net Match at the eMerge Americas technology event, Tuesday, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016
Wild Card/Tuesday -- 4.19.16
I have scheduled an online interview with House District 3 candidate Peter Riggs this morning at 10:30 a.m. Peter is running against state Rep. Don Cheatham, an incumbent who has achieved "star" status with the Hayden Area Tea Party but only a C+ from the IFF Freedom Index.
Independence expert hits snag as he plans move
Virgil Edwards has labored to make his manufactured home comfortable and attractive. He puts long hours into the landscaping and whimsical décor, and figured it was worth something – a few thousand dollars, at least – as he prepared to move on. But Edwards, 66, was disheartened to learn he’ll have to pay to move or tear it down.
PM Scanner Traffic -- 4.19.16
Scanner Traffic for Tuesday PM (14 items & counting + link to AM Scanner Traffic with 9 more items) includes a call to 911 to complain that a dog in a Jaguar with the hood down at Walmart is being "exposed to the elements" ...
State Bar hosts Supreme Court forum
The Idaho Bar Association is holding a candidates' forum for the four Idaho Supreme Court justice candidates: Robyn Brody, Clive Strong, Sergio Gutierrez and Kurt McKenzie. Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise, is live-blogging the forum this afternoon.
Cutline Contest -- Time2Vote
The Cutline Contest today features Britain's Prince William hugging Chewbacca during a tour of the Star Wars sets near London earlier today. Monday Winner: Wedeln6969.
Bike Rage
On the waterfront today, walking partner Greg Lee and I received a drive-by lecture shouted out by a female on a bike who thought we were taking too much of the McEuen Park sidewalk. She started screaming as she petaled past: "Quit using so much of the sidewalk!" I shouted after her: "Thanks for the warning!"
Blogos -- 4.19.16
The daily roundup of AM Headlines includes 4 photos by Duane Rasmussen of downtown Rathdrum after dark. Also: Comments/Bay Views, In absentia/Faithful Geek, Land of the rich/Better Idaho, Your weekly planner/On Tap, Definition of insanity/Fort Boise, Judicial activists/Randy Stapilus, Heroes in our neighborhood/Simple Mind + more ...
Wayne Hoffman's headed north
Wayne Hoffman of Idaho Freedom Foundation/Action is headed to North Idaho for a series of town hall meetings to give his take on the 2016 session. Competent Sen. Shawn Keough bad. Confederate flag waving Rep. Heather Scott very very good. Hoffman will make stops in Lewiston, Coeur d'Alene, Sandpoint, Bonners Ferry and Priest River.
Spring Grass
We all love spring. But spring means the grass is green and growing again. The Bard of Sherman Avenue has a rhyme that may make you wish that there was snow in the forecast.
Yes, Virginia, Sheriff Ben could lose
It's hard to imagine that a popular sheriff like Ben Wolfinger could lose to "constitutional sheriff" candidate John Green. But he could. And state Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d'Alene, could lose to Tea Party "star" Arthur Macomber. But they could. See what you can do below to give these two and Paul Amador a better chance to win.
Manhunt under way for elusive driver
Kootenai County authorities are still searching for a man who escaped on foot after fleeing from Idaho State Police, and are asking parents in the area to take extra care as children get out of school. Idaho State Police attempted to pull over a car over just before 7 a.m. near Coeur d’Alene.
Faith healing exemption worries Otter
As Idaho’s controversial faith healing exemption from prosecution for child deaths or medical neglect gained national attention on the “Today” show today, Gov. Butch Otter said he hopes legislative leaders will heed his call to form a working group to look into the issue this summer. “I hope they will, so that we have a clearer path forward."
Quotable Quote -- 4.19.16
"What's going to happen here is you're going to force me to vote against my conscious because I do believe the first proposal is the one that I support and is the correct one. It was not created based on the location of any of the trustees' residences. But at the same time I want a resolution to this problem" -- Ken Howard re: NIC trustee zones.
Christie's views on NIC zone vote
Trustee Christie Wood pulls the curtain back from the North Idaho College Board of Trustees vote that allowed proposed trustee zones to be changed to prevent Trustees Ron Nilson and Todd Banducci from running against each other this fall.
A candidate encounter
Duane Rasmussen and Fred Meckel, both candidates for the Kootenai County commissioner seat now held by Dan Green, talk during a break in the action at the Mica Grange forum recently. This is the second time the two are involved in a four-way race for an elected position.
AM Scanner Traffic -- 4.19.16
Scanner Traffic for Tuesday AM (9 items & counting) includes evacuation of Health Care for Women office in Chinook Building on Ironwood Drive after workers smelled electrical burning ...
Idaho pays $238K for lost legal cause
Idaho’s Board of Examiners voted unanimously this morning to approve payment of $238,538 in attorney fees for the state’s failed legal defense of two anti-union bills passed by the 2011 Idaho Legislature; the payment request will be referred to the state’s Constitutional Defense Council this week for payment out of the Constitutional Defense Fund.
Labrador backs Cheatham, Sims
In an unusual move, Congressman Raul Labrador has endorsed the legislative candidacies of incumbent Reps. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d'Alene, and Donald Cheatham, R-Post Falls. In an article published in the Press, Labrador lauded Cheatham as "one of the most reliable, conservative voices in the Idaho Legislature."
HucksOnline interviews candidate Peter Riggs
Huckleberries is conducting an interview with Peter Riggs, a candidate for the House District 3 seat now held by Rep. Donald Cheatham. In the last question, Riggs speaks to Rep. Cheatham's habit of dodging questionnaires (Coeur d'Alene Press Voters Guide) and forums (Reagan Republicans) that would provide voters w/more info about him.
Poll: Plurality has to pay
In the Monday poll, a plurality of Hucks Nation said it had to pay income tax this year overall (when bottom line of state and federal returns were combined). Today's Poll: Did the NIC board gerrymander the new trustee zones to prevent Trustees Ron Nilson & Todd Banducci from running against each other this year?
2 firms fight for solid waste contract
Coeur d'Alene Garbage Service submitted the low bid for the city of Coeur d'Alene's solid waste and single stream recycling contract. But Waste Management, the current contractor, says the contract process was "flawed." And wants a do-over. Waste Management says the bid process was rushed and ambiguous.
Poetry has place year round
I learned to love poetry by accident. I was reading a National Geographic re: the life of Walt Whitman when the author suggested that poetry should be read out loud. I tried that with a book of Emily Dickenson's poems. Then, Whitman's "Leaves of Grass." Little by little, I got hooked. Sorta. April is National Poetry Month. Give poetry a 2nd chance.
Vandersloot: 3 liars & socialist
Big Idaho GOP donor Frank VanderSloot says he’s disillusioned with the field for president this year, which he characterized this way: “Three people are bona fide liars and one is a socialist.” “Where we got to is pretty strange,” VanderSloot told the Idaho State Journal about presidential politics in 2016.
NIC trustees gerrymander zones
The majority of the NIC board of trustees listened to the whine of two Tea Party leaning trustees last night -- and gerrymandered new college trustee zones to prevent the two from running against each other. If the shoe had been on the other foot, I doubt that the two would have been so kind to those in the majority. Bad call.
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.