Idaho Voices

Today Big Red Barn (Rock/Swing) – 3 p.m., Rotary Lakeside Bandshell, Coeur d’Alene City Park, Coeur d’Alene, 667-3162.

Filings from July 22-31. Chapter 7 (liquidation petitions)

Coeur d’Alene Steve and Mary Sharp, 406 W. Mill Ave., garage addition, valued at $36,276.

Last week we profiled the opening of the 1210 Tavern on Sherman Avenue in Coeur d’Alene. Its original building burned last year. Next door was Gamer’s Haven, which also burned. Its former property is still vacant, but a new Gamer’s Haven will open in October in the Outlet Mall along Interstate 90 on the west side of Post Falls.

For 08-16-2009

Weekly Events

BOISE – Idaho has far fewer state troopers on the road than either its neighbor states or a group of similarly sized states, according to a new analysis by the Idaho State Police. Col. Jerry Russell, ISP chief, said when compared with the six surrounding states – Wyoming, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Washington and Oregon – Idaho ranks dead last for number of troopers per citizen, with 11,288 citizens for every state trooper. Washington’s at 8,874 to one.

I wonder what it’ll take to get some of you to check out Scanner Traffic on Huckleberries Online? The Spokesman-Review does a good job giving you news of significant crime and mayhem in the Coeur d’Alene area. Scanner Traffic finishes the jobs by telling you why the sirens are wailing in your ’hood, for lesser incidents. To tempt you to read, I’m going to provide the gist from one weekday’s Scanner Traffic, from last Monday. Shotgun MIA

Has the sun been feeling a little less hot lately? It might seem odd to ask that during what is usually the hottest part of the year. But the brightness of the sun is actually affected by things called sunspots – and like last year, they have been noticeably absent. Sunspots, dark spots on the sun which can span as much as 50,000 miles in diameter, are caused by magnetic storms.

COEUR D’ALENE – A free information session for high school juniors and seniors interested in the North Idaho College dual credit program will be held in the Lake Coeur d’Alene Room in NIC’s Edminster Student Union Building on Thursday, from 6-7:30 p.m. The program, known as WINGS, or Win by getting a Good Start, gives high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to enroll in NIC classes for high school and college credit, giving them a head start on their college career.

Filings from July 15-22. Chapter 7 (liquidation petitions)

Coeur d’Alene Ross Brothers Investments, 1201 E. Gilbert Ave., residence with garage, valued at $85,000.

For 08-09-2009

It was already hot at 10 a.m. Outside the Spokane Valley Partners Food Bank, a couple dozen people were lined up in the blazing sun waiting for the 11 a.m. opening. Barbara Bennett, the food bank’s director, was handing out numbers and sending folks to the shade of the auditorium. “We had people fainting in the heat last week. Even still they don’t want to lose their place in line.” While the line forms outside, volunteers inside are busy unpacking the morning’s donations of fresh garden produce brought in by backyard gardeners. There’s zucchini, summer squash, dill, beans, the first tomatoes and cucumbers. Still, by the end of the day these donations and more will be gone and some folks may not get in on the bounty.

Construction of the new Wal-Mart and Love’s Travel Stop planned for the west side of Post Falls should start this fall. Finalization of plans and traffic analyses evidently remain the final hurdles for the stores. The 147,000-square-foot Wal-Mart near Cabela’s would not replace the existing store on the east side of town. That store eventually may become a Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart’s membership warehouse store similar to Costco, although several municipalities that are Post Falls’ size have more than one regular Wal-Mart.