We're headed to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament and the Gonzaga Bulldogs, the unlikeliest of Zag basketball teams, are still dancing after throttling Seton Hall and then Utah. I was one of the voters in the weekend poll who said Gonzaga would reach the Sweet 16. At this point, I can see them going at least one step further to the Elite 8.
Former president Bill Clinton campaigns for his wife, Hillary Clinton, during a “Washington Get Out The Caucus” rally at Spokane Falls Community College in Spokane today.
Silas Melson aced the one-game-at-a-time pop quiz. A half hour after Gonzaga dusted Utah 82-59 on Saturday in an NCAA tournament 2nd-round mismatch, the sophomore guard was quizzed about the Zags’ next opponent, admittedly an unfair question since Middle Tennessee and Syracuse didn’t meet until Sunday. “Whoever steps in front of us,” Melson said.
Scanner Traffic for Monday PM (16 items & counting) includes one car rollover with injuries on I-90/Pleasant View Drive, Post Falls. Also, police have found a missing 86YO Post Falls Alzheimers victim after he had been missing almost two hours.
The Cutline Contest today features a player from Middle Tennessee watch as a Syracuse player picks up a loose ball during their NCAA game Sunday. Syracuse throttled Middle Tennessee and will play Gonzaga Friday in the Sweet 16. Middle Tennessee had upset Michigan State earlier. Weekend Winner: SLFisher.
“The little Supreme Court in my head says this is OK” -- Rep. Sage Dixon, R-Sandpoint, re: possible unconstitutionality of his bill to permit Bibles in schools as a reference.
The daily roundup of posts from the Huckleberries Online blogosphere includes: Storage sheds/Simple Mind, Dick Hansen, RIP/Bay Views, Grace of a child/Faithful Geek, The week in Review/Better Idaho, Your weekly roundup/On Tap, Math whiz party like it's 999/Fort Boise, Sculpture to be dedicated April 4/CdA Today + more ...
The Idaho House has voted 54-15 in favor of SB 1342a, the Bible-in-schools bill, after much debate. The bill would expressly permit use of the Bible in public schools as a reference. ... Rep. Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay, the bill’s lead House sponsor, said: “The little Supreme Court in my head says this is OK.”
Former President Bill Clinton said in a Spokane community college gym Monday that a Hillary Clinton presidency would make college more affordable. The candidate doesn’t believe that college should be free for everyone, Clinton said. Instead, Hillary Clinton would widen grant programs, raise taxes on the wealthy to help pay for college.
Update: Local authorities have found Floyd Burge, an 86YO Post Falls Alzheimers victim who was missing for about 2 hours. Deputies found Burge at Highway 41 and Poleline Ave. Burge had gone for his customary walk but failed to return today.
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, taking the podium to address thousands of cheering fans at Taco Bell Arena in Boise today, said, “You know, I thought I walked into the wrong state. I was told Idaho is a conservative state – that’s not what I see here today.” The crowd cheered.
Idaho Secretary of State Lawrence Denney, who as House Speaker was instrumental in bringing the closed-primary system that discourages large numbers from voting, is now working with colleagues from other states to promote higher voter turnouts in primary elections. He and his fellow secretaries are not having much success.
The city of Coeur d'Alene will dedicate its latest piece of public art on Monday, April 4. The piece, "Chief Morris Antelope," by local artist Cheryl Metcalf, honors Chief Morris Antelope, a strong advocate for the rights of the Coeur d’Alene Indians. It already has been erected on the Centennial Trail, where River Avenue meets the Dike Road.
Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, was the only member of the House today who voted “no” on all seven pieces of the public school budget, as it cleared the House on overwhelmingly positive votes and headed to the Senate. “It’s difficult to vote against those because that money’s got to be there, but you’re just looking at so much money.”
President Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to visit Cuba in nearly 90 years when he traveled to the island this weekend. Cuban President Raúl Castro called Monday for the US to abandon the territory it occupies at Guantánamo Bay and to lift the U.S. embargo against Cuba. (Question: Do you support the president's visit to Cuba?)
If you ever needed a reason to believe that state Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, serves his constituents poorly, he provided seven of them this morning. Barbieri was the only representative to vote against all seven education funding bills that passed the House overwhelmingly today. Afterward, he wouldn't explain his inexplicable votes.
Scanner Traffic for Monday (18 items & counting) includes a fuel spill of 1.5 to 2 gallons of gas at 41 Express on Highway 41 in Post Falls ...
As many of you read here last week, Coeur d'Alene schools Superintendent Matt Handelman was one of six finalists for a superintendent post in Edmonds, Wash. Today, Handelman circulated another email that said simply that he was no longer a finalist for the Washington job.
A plurality of Hucks Nation said Gonzaga would beat Utah and make it at least as far as the Sweet 16, which, of course, the Zags did Saturday. 72 of 222 respondents (32.43%) predicted Gonzaga's win over Utah. Today's Poll: Who would you rather see live at a rally -- Bernie Sanders or Bill Clinton?
In her Eye on Boise Sunday column for The Spokesman-Review, Betsy Russell leads off with a look at the controversial Sharia Law bill promoted by Rep. Eric Redman, R-Athol. The bill would make it illegal for a judge to consider foreign laws in making a decisions. Opponents say Redman's bill could have wide-ranging unintended consequences.
Former President Bill Clinton is coming to Spokane on Monday, just days before Idaho and Washington’s Democratic caucuses help determine if his wife, Hillary Clinton, will be the party’s presidential nominee. His visit will be on the heels of a swing through Spokane by Clinton’s rival for the nomination, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The city of Coeur d’Alene has decided that it will pay to relocate the 20-year-old “welcome sign” near Memorial Field. Originally, Parks Director Bill Greenwood told the CdA Press that the sign would be dismantled and stored until someone came forward to finance the relocation. Now, Mayor Steve Widmyer says the city will pay to relocate it.
Officials for the Bernie Sanders campaign counted 10,000 people trying to cram into the Spokane Convention Center for a chance to hear the Democratic presidential candidate's 45-minute speech. One thousand people were allowed in. The rest were diverted to overflow rooms. Sanders made a swing through the INW ahead of caucuses in Idaho & Washington.
In the Saturday editorial, The Spokesman-Review Editorial Board took Idaho legislators to task for trampling local control. Twice, the Legislature moved this session to deny local governments the right to make changes to local law -- once involving the minimum wage and the other time involving plastic bags.
The lead item in Sunday's Huckleberries focuses on former Coeur d'Alene Parks Director Doug Eastwood. For 30 some years, Doug used imagination and limited budgets to greatly expand the city's parks system. However, that creativity didn't translate to naming his pet Labradors. One after another answered to the name Smokey.
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.
