Jim Camden

The campaign for mayor of Spokane in 2007 is starting to sound a bit like Mark Twain's famous quote about the weather. Everybody, it seems, talks about someone else who should be running; hardly any of them actually are running. Incumbent Mayor Dennis Hession definitely is. He has been raising money since June and formally announced his campaign last month.

Washington's congressional delegation is trying to head off the potential loss of a military helicopter unit at Fairchild Air Force Base that does double duty on civilian rescues. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell have all written letters to the Pentagon questioning a possible relocation of the 36th Rescue Flight, a 30-person unit with four helicopters assigned to the Air Force Survival School at the base.

Ferret fanciers will go to great lengths – and great distances – to show off their furry friends. So no one at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds was at all surprised that first place in one of the Invitational Class competitions of the Inland Northwest Ferret Association's regional show went to Zapata and his owner, Linda Gurule, of Farmington, N.M.

Voters in parts of Stevens County are being asked next week to pass school levies for some of their operating costs, and Deer Park School District, which also contains parts of Spokane County, is seeking approval of a $24 million bond issue. Some of the districts have struggled at the ballot box in recent years.

The Air Force took another step Tuesday toward replacing some of its aging KC-135 tankers by releasing the specifications of what it wants in its next generation of flying gasoline stations. The specifications, technically known as a Request for Proposals, include the ability to carry at least as much fuel and fly as far as a KC-135, double as a cargo plane and refuel planes from the Navy and U.S. allies.

Eastern Washington veterans will have a cemetery, perhaps by late 2009, the state veterans' director predicted Thursday. Separate bills in the state Senate and House of Representatives are moving easily through the Legislature, and Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposed budget includes about $7.8 million for the project, state Veterans Affairs Director John Lee said. The possible sites have been narrowed to two locations on the West Plains.

Ed and Gloria Harris stood with their grandchildren Wednesday night and watched arcing flares burst into chrysanthemum shapes of glowing colors above a fog-shrouded Riverfront Park. "We brought them down to see the magic," Gloria Harris said as they held Jazmin Battles, 3, and brother Izaiah 1 ½ against the damp cold.

Northwest Republicans gave George Bush high marks for reaching out to the other party with statements on energy and health care and the war in Iraq. But the region's ranking Democrat called the 2007 State of the Union address "tepid at best."

Fairchild Air Force Base will stop circulating a weekly newspaper this spring, moving into the digital age by putting its news onto a Web site. On April 1, the base will end its contract for publishing the Fairchild Connection, leaving it without a printed compilation of news stories, military advice and ads for the first time in 59 years.

One Spokane County civil service commissioner will be ousted at the end of his term, and another is being asked to resign as a result of this month's controversial decision regarding a sheriff's detective who had been fired for exposing himself at an Airway Heights coffee stand. John R. Shagen, whose six-year term is up Tuesday and has applied to be reappointed, will not get a second term, Spokane County commissioners decided at a special meeting Friday.

Some Idaho Republicans in Congress will back President Bush's new Iraq strategy – at least for now – as a chance for turning around the current course of the war. "I'm going to give this president my support in the short term," Sen. Larry Craig, the senior member of the Idaho delegation said just minutes after Bush finished his speech. "I think the president clearly recognizes the concerns the American people have."

President Bush seems to be misreading the results of the November election in his call for a surge in troops for Iraq, a senior Democrat from Washington state warned Wednesday. "The American people spoke pretty loudly in November that they wanted a change in direction in Iraq," Sen. Patty Murray said.

The year 2006 was a time of comings and goings for the Inland Northwest, in academia, sports, law enforcement and politics. Coming were Eastern Washington University's new president Rodolfo Arevalo at the start of the year and Washington State University's new president Elson Floyd at its end.

Once again, a whole new year stretches before us, white and untrammeled – sort of like snow on a city golf course where sledding has been banned. Last year, Spin Control looked into the crystal ball to make predictions for 2006. Many worked out so well that in the spirit of various energy shortages – work as well as petroleum-based – it seemed appropriate to recycle some and add others.

Votes for state Senate in Spokane's 6th Legislative District were among the most costly to candidates in the state for last month's election. Democratic challenger Chris Marr spent about $17 for every vote he collected on his way to winning the Senate seat from Republican Sen. Brad Benson, who spent about $9.65 per vote.

Stung by losses in legislative and county races last month, Spokane County Republicans have reorganized and picked a new chairman and vice chairwoman. Curt Fackler, a consultant on business taxes and former candidate for state and local offices, won a close race for the top spot in what he described as a contest between religious conservatives and younger, more centrist party members. Although religious conservatives won the chairman's post, centrist Republicans picked up other leadership positions.

Ben Nelson got an unexpected houseguest late Thursday night – one that landed him in the hospital and destroyed his Hauser Lake home. As Nelson loafed on his old yellow couch, a powerful wind gust spiraled a gigantic fir tree, snapped the monster in two and sent it smashing through his roof. The broken tree, chunks of ceiling and loose insulation crashed down on Nelson, burying him in debris.

The new Democratic Congress will demand more accountability on Iraq next year but is unlikely to exercise its ultimate authority by cutting off money for the war, Washington state's senior U.S. senator said Monday. "We have the power of the purse strings … but none of us are going to put our troops in jeopardy by not supplying them with the things they need," Democrat Patty Murray said during an interview with The Spokesman-Review's editorial board. Federal spending on things other than the war will be tighter, she said.

Northwest members of Congress generally praised the Iraq Study Group, whether they have been supporters or critics of President Bush's handling of the war. Rep. Cathy McMorris said in a prepared statement that she hoped the report would prompt a bipartisan, responsible conclusion to the war. McMorris, a freshman Republican who has been to Iraq and called for the United States to "stay the course" there, has said it is better for American troops to be fighting terrorists in the Middle East than back home.