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D.F. Oliveria

This individual is no longer an employee with The Spokesman-Review.

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News >  Idaho

Hoffman: School levy and bond elections

It’s time for Idaho lawmakers to reform the way school districts demand money from taxpayers. The number of school levy and school bond elections are out of control, and school districts have learned that the mechanics of an election are more important than public support. Furthermore, the timing of the requests virtually guarantees there’s no real connection between what taxpayers are being asked to pony up and what lawmakers budget for public schools.
News >  Idaho

Doritos State Park still an option?

After promising that new corporate sponsorship programs for Idaho’s state parks wouldn’t lead to renaming state parks for Coca-Cola or Doritos, state parks board members were faced with new administrative rules last week that actually didn’t rule that out.
News >  Idaho

Grille from Ipanema moving to Riverstone

A Brazilian steakhouse in Coeur d’Alene, Grille from Ipanema, will relocate to The Village at Riverstone next spring. This has been on my list of restaraunts to try when in CdA. Honestly, I'll probably be more likely to visit once it's at Riverstone. Are you a fan of Grille from Ipanenma?
News >  Idaho

Winds cause 50-acre fire in Rathdrum

A smattering of rain and a break in the relentless dusty wind allowed fire crews to get a potentially dangerous 50-acre fire in Rathdrum under control Saturday. Northern Lakes Fire District public information officer Jim Lyon reported that heavy winds knocked trees into live power lines, which started the fire at 23800 N. Ramsey Road, about a mile south of Brunner Road.
News >  Idaho

Ranchers face loss of livestock, livelihoods

DANVILLE, Wash. – The burned carcasses blend into the scorched landscape, just more black and ash among the haunting outline of trees. “There she is,” rancher Doug Grumbach says, pointing up the steep slope near his ranch. “It looks like she was trying to run and froze in that mode.”
D.F. Oliveria
Opinion >  Column

Huckleberries: Kootenai County GOP too extreme for committeeman

First, you need to know that retired Army National Guard Maj. Andrew Whipple served his country in Iraq during the dicey period from November 2004 until December 2005. The Kootenai High (Harrison, Idaho) educator doesn’t give up easily. But he finally had enough with the extreme politics of the Kootenai County (Tea) Republican Central Committee last week. Andrew resigned his elected committeeman position from Precinct 70. At his first meeting three years ago, he learned that other precinct committee persons considered moderate Republicans, not Democrats, to be their “enemy.” He felt marginalized after controlling Teapublicans learned he was a public school teacher.
News >  Idaho

Weekend Wild Card 8.29-8.30.15

Ever think you'd pray for a rainy weekend? I'm hoping to will pour and give firefighters some much needed relief. In fact, I'm going to wash my car to ensure the rainfall.
News >  Idaho

Drunk listed?

AURORA, Ill. -- The police department in Illinois' second largest city is going to compile a "habitual drunkard" list to help fight public intoxication. Aurora Police Department Sgt. Tom McNamara says the list will have "certain clientele" whom police and fire departments see regularly. Would you like your local PD to compile a similar list?
News >  Idaho

TGIF Wildcard 8.28.15

I really don't know how Dave does it. We returned Sunday from a vacation in Houston where our second son lives. I'm still not sure of the day of the week. I scheduled a bunch of interviews for this week, thinking it was next week and had to call everyone back.
News >  Idaho

Me in any language

I have this embarrassing, unconscious habit of taking on the speech patterns and accents of people I'm talking with. This morning I interviewed a German who immigrated to the States in the late 50's. Sure enough I started saying, Ya, ya, istead of yes and my w's began sounding like v's. This afternoon I interviewed a Cuban national. By the end of our visit I sounded like Ricky Ricardo. Si.
News >  Idaho

Majority of women’s accounts on Ashley Madison were fake

An analysis of the user data on millions of people exposed by the massive hack of AshleyMadison.com has concluded that a vast majority of the accounts supposedly belonging to women were inactive and possibly fake. Despite its popularity among men, with 31 million male users (including some using official government email addresses), the site for people looking to have an affair had only 5.5 million registered female users.
News >  Idaho

Wildfires shake up Idaho football’s opening weekend

Poor air quality as a result of wildfires in the region have had North Idaho high schools scrambling to figure out options for scheduled season-opening games this weekend. It’s been a fluid situation all week with seemingly changes daily. The result for Coeur d’Alene-area fans is a unique doubleheader today at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow. Lake City and Coeur d’Alene secured time slots to play their openers there.
News >  Idaho

Genetically engineered potato news

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved a potato genetically engineered to resist the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine and that still damages crops. Idaho-based J.R. Simplot Co. says that the Russet Burbank can also be stored at colder temperatures longer to reduce food waste.
News >  Idaho

Arson investigation underway in CdA grass fire

A Thursday evening grass fire that burned an area about the size of a city block on Coeur d’Alene was the work of an arsonist, investigators have determined. The fire started around 6:40 p.m. near the vacant motel on Northwest Boulevard near West Davidson Avenue, according to a news release from the Coeur d’Alene police department.
News >  Idaho

Raindrops!

Just got back from my afternoon walk and I am happy to report raindrops kept falling on my head. Just a light pattering of scattered drops-- but still RAIN!
News >  Idaho

Twitter working hard to add tweeters

NEW YORK – Twitter’s most urgent task is naming a new CEO. But the most formidable one is convincing more people that its service is essential, easy to use and not just meant for celebrities, 16-year-olds and news junkies. To help with the latter, there are big promotions, such as last year’s World Cup push and this year’s expanded content and advertising deal with the NFL.
News >  Idaho

Favorite swimming hole?

We asked our readers to share their favorite swimming hole. I'm not a fan of swimming with the fishes. And the seaweed. And crowds. My favorite swimming hole is my mother-in-law's backyard pool. What's yours?
News >  Idaho

Macklemore video shows off Spokane

Seattle rapper Macklemore and his producer buddy Ryan Lewis spent a week in Spokane in July filming a video for the first single off their upcoming album. "Downtown" went live on YouTube this morning, and features Macklemore getting funky with collaborators Grandmaster Caz, Kool Moe Dee, Melle Mel, and Foxy Shazam's Eric Nally - and a whole lot of Spokane moped, scooter and motorcycle enthusiasts
News >  Idaho

Coeur d’Con arrives Saturday

Gotta say I've nver been a fan of comic books or graphic novels. They've always seemed like senory overload to me. Do I look at the pictures first, read the words? Of course, all four of my sons LOVE them.
News >  Idaho

Mariners fire GM Jack Zduriencik

SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners have fired general manager Jack Zduriencik after seven disappointing seasons during which the club failed to end its playoff drought. Team President Kevin Mather announced the decision to fire Zduriencik on Friday. Assistant general manager Jeff Kingston will take over on an interim basis.
News >  Idaho

Clark Fork Delta on the mend

CLARK FORK, Idaho – Katherine Cousins motored a small boat through the Clark Fork Delta’s back channels this week, pausing to watch a belted kingfisher swooping over the water near a stand of young willows. The natural-looking scene is the result of $6 million worth of construction at one of Idaho’s most important wetlands.