Idaho Voices

It is referred to by many here as the “aha!” moment – the time when they cross the long bridge into Sandpoint, take in the view and realize that they have found their new home. The beauty of Lake Pend Oreille surrounded by the mountains is what initially lures many to this resort town. But it doesn’t take long after arriving for people to realize there is much more to this community than its breathtaking views. The uniqueness of Sandpoint is one reason it is among the finalists for Budget Travel Magazine’s America’s Coolest Small Town’s contest. Of the 147 nominations received, Sandpoint has made the cut to the top 21 towns and currently sits in 10th place. Other communities in the running include Red Lodge, Mont.; the Oregon towns of Sisters and Bandon; Sitka, Alaska; Brevard, N.C.; Cooperstown, N.Y.; Egg Harbor, Wis.; and the current leader, Ely, Minn. The voting will end May 9.

Students at Bryan Elementary School can enjoy Donuts With Dad on Friday, thanks to the school’s Positive Adults With Students Club. Dads, grandpas and other men who are important to Bryan students are invited to have donuts at 8 a.m., and then play on the playground with the kids from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

More than 50 new Mazdas were added to the inventory of the I-90 Autoplex off Interstate 90 in Post Falls when the Findlay Auto Group purchased and moved the Mazda dealership from Coeur d’Alene. The new name is Findlay Hyundai-Mazda. Findlay Hyundai originally opened in March 2007 in Post Falls. The Findlay Auto Group comprises 28 dealerships, offering 17 different manufacturers of automobiles. In business since 1959, Findlay Auto Group has grown into one of the largest auto groups in the West, with about 1,000 full-time employees.

The Great Harvest Bread Co. Web site basically makes it clear that all potential franchisees should expect to be indoctrinated into some kind of fantastic feel-good bread cult. They toss around warm, fuzzy catchphrases like “designing a life,” and “freedom-based” and refer to their chain of 200 stores as “learning communities.”

HAYDEN – Safe Kids Kootenai County will partner with Panhandle Health District for free car seat inspections at the health district office8500 N. Atlas Road, from 1 to 4 p.m. April 19. A limited number of new car seats will be available to those who qualify, for a minimum $5 donation.

That “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” in 2006 involving a Sandpoint family has been spotlighted by the Wall Street Journal as one of the show’s all-time flops. Remember? The town celebrated and joined hands when Eric Hebert was picked as the worthy owner of a house that needed TLC. Hebert was raising his sister’s young twins after she died unexpectedly in 2004. The three were living in a house best described as a basement with a roof over it. Hebert’s original mortgage was for $110,000. After the mega-makeover by the popular show, Hebert refinanced it twice, for $250,000 and then for $382,500. And later became the first Extreme Makeover beneficiary to suffer foreclosure. Hebert wouldn’t comment for the WSJ article. But Century 21 RiverStone realtor Sydney Icardo did. Icardo, who cut down aspen trees used to decorate Hebert’s former bedroom, said: “It’s kind of like we have egg on our face. It cuts deep. We’re a tight community.” The Wall Street Journal offers four other tales of extreme makeovers gone wrong and this spin from a show spokeswoman: “Like many homeowners in the nation ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ families aren’t immune to the current state of the U.S. economy.” P’haps “Extreme Makeover” should offer some extreme financial counseling to ensure everyone lives happily ever after? Gringos, beware

Today Bill Reid (Jazz) - 1 p.m., DiLunas, 207 Cedar St., Sandpoint, (208) 263-0846.

Filings from March 10-11. Chapter 7 (liquidation petitions)

Coeur d’Alene T-Mobile, 5505 N. Government Way, replace antennas and equipment addition, valued at $9,000.

For 04-04-2010

One of the queries included in the Get Out blog’s recurring man-on-the-street survey “Nine Easy Questions” is “Which is the best Chinese restaurant in North Idaho?” Apparently, the question isn’t actually so easy, with most of the responses looking somewhat indecisive and usually rather grim. “Hmm, Chinese. We don’t really go to any of the Chinese places in town. Maybe we should try a couple of them again sometime, but we’ve never found anyplace that we really liked,” complained one respondent.

This past week, the Inland Northwest received some much needed rainfall, saw the season’s first thunderstorms, and also experienced some strong wind gusts. On Monday, southwest winds as strong as 54 mph were recorded at Fairchild Air Force Base. A peak wind gust of 44 mph was measured at the Spokane airport, 49 mph at Felts Field in Spokane Valley, and 49 mph in Coeur d’Alene. Sustained winds of over 20 mph were also prevalent during the late morning and early afternoon. What caused such windy conditions? One of the contributing factors was the location of a low-level jet stream, aligned southwest to northeast across northern Oregon and Eastern Washington. Winds in this jet stream had speeds up to 55 mph. Momentum from higher wind speeds aloft can be transferred down in several different ways.