Ken Olsen

Chenoweth

CORRECTION: Tuesday, October 31, 1995; B6 ID Sam Sears, a Coeur d'Alene City Council candidate, supervised the container/greenhouse branch of the U.S. Forest Service nursery for 20 years. His job description was listed incorrectly Sunday.

It has scrutinized and criticized nearly every public budget in North Idaho in the last several months, telling fire districts to skip training here and city governments to cut tax levies there. Now North Idaho's most powerful business lobby is holding workshops for public officials and government workers to tell them how to slice spending even more in the future. Concerned Businesses of North Idaho called Wednesday night's effort - held at North Idaho College - a "re-engineering seminar."

Alleging that city officials met with developers behind closed doors and made significant errors in annexing Blackwell Island, opponents of growth south of the Spokane River are making a last stand in court. The Rural Kootenai Organization and Coeur d'Alene resident Denise Clark filed suit Monday against the city of Coeur d'Alene and Blackwell's developers.

Fernan Mayor Doug Potter opposes south shore development. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Trouble on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests sounds like this: "Day by day, morale slips and very scary thoughts are expressed," one employee wrote this summer. "Purchase metal detectors" was one answer to a question asking what employees would do if put in charge of the forests.

The conflict of spirits at the corners of Emma Avenue and Lincoln Way was laid to rest Tuesday without city intervention. Mr. Steak owner Charles Nipp withdrew his request to have a beer and wine license, City Councilman Ron Edinger told his colleagues. So there was no discussion on Nipp's request for a change in city rules that dictates no booze be served by an establishment that is within 300 feet of a church.

Mr. Steak wants to put spirits on the table. But the business is too close to the Lincoln Way Church of God.

Early tests show salsa sold at the "Picnic in the Park" probably wasn't contaminated with botulism. But public health officials are still trying to locate any jars of the Caribbean Plaza Guasaca that were sold during festivities surrounding the opening of the Cultural Center Oct. 1. There is confirmed contamination that, though less deadly than botulism, will still make people sick, said Dave Hylsky of the Panhandle Health District.

Jars of salsa sold two weeks ago at the grand opening of the Cultural Center appear contaminated and pose a serious health threat, public health officials warn. While no one has been reported sick, tests of one jar of the "Caribbean Plaza Guasaca" turned up potentially harmful bacteria, said Shawn Ellison of the Panhandle Health District. The container has been forwarded to U.S. Food and Drug Administration laboratories to be tested for other bacteria, including botulism, an often fatal poison produced by botulinus bacteria.

For five years, the man who runs the architecture school at Washington State University has been flouting Pullman city building codes. Rafi Samizay says it's no big deal. It's nobody's business what he does to his Pullman home, he said. Never mind that the program he runs requires students to learn the same Uniform Building Code he ignored. Or that when he signed two building permits in 1989 he agreed that "all laws and ordinances that govern this type of work will be complied with."

There were calls for sled runs, fountains, places to cross-country ski and a merry-go-round. Getting rid of the city boat ramps, pushing parking underground, and building better playgrounds also were on the minds of citizens who attended Tuesday evening's brainstorming session on the future of the city's downtown property.

From a railroad worker to a former Perot staffer, six people will compete for three City Council seats. Chad Solsvik 25, filed his petition for office Tuesday afternoon, hours before the 5 p.m. deadline. State law requires candidates have signatures from 40 voters in order to run for office.

Builders and inspectors are on the verge of resolving their battle over new building codes. After months of impasse - fueled by misunderstandings and a disagreement over garages - it clears the way for the City Council to adopt the 1994 Uniform Building Code. The council's Public Works Committee voted Monday night to recommend the city adopt the code. It was the fourth or fifth attempt at dealing with the controversy.

Some want to plunge into construction of a new city swimming pool. Others see it as a place for public gyms, where teenagers can shoot hoops instead of hanging out on East Sherman Avenue.

Don't cry for the Endangered Species Act. Even if the politically tattered savior of bald eagles and grizzly bears is dumped, it will mean much less to the Western landscape than the fate of a lesser known and more potent law that Congress is quietly revisiting. The National Forest Management Act is the real reason the spotted owl stopped old growth logging in the Pacific Northwest. As the owl case flitted through the courts, the act elicited amazement from a federal appeals court judge who, like much of the public, assumed no law did more for critters than the Endangered Species Act.

The Clearwater National Forest is allowing road construction near the headwaters of the Lochsa River without required state approval, the Idaho Conservation League charged Wednesday. The result will be heavy sedimentation in an already damaged stream, the environmental group said. The group filed suit in federal court in Boise on Wednesday to stop the project.

A federal judge threw out the national grizzly bear recovery plan in a decision that will affect the Selkirk bear population of North Idaho and Eastern Washington. The ruling says "the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hasn't come up with a way to measure if the population is increasing, decreasing or stable," said Doug Honnold, staff attorney with the Sierra Club Legal Defense fund.

A federal judge threw out the national grizzly bear recovery plan in a decision that will affect the Selkirk bear population of North Idaho and Eastern Washington. The ruling says "the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hasn't come up with a way to measure if the population is increasing, decreasing or stable," said Doug Honnold, staff attorney with the Sierra Club Legal Defense fund.

The City Council decided not to throw out downtown parking regulations Tuesday evening, but made it clear it will make life easier on developers. Before the council voted, however, resident Tom McMichael chastised the council for not giving people more notice the regulations were on the verge of repeal. Had the word gotten out, more people would have protested, said McMichael, who lives downtown.

Victims of domestic violence may be the ultimate losers in the O.J. Simpson murder case. "I feel for the survivors of domestic violence in this country and the message this sends that justice is only available to the rich and powerful," said Bill Douglas, Kootenai County prosecuting attorney. "I don't think that's the right message."

City parking regulations may be tossed out by the City Council tonight. Current rules are discouraging rehabilitation of downtown buildings, according to a Planning Commission report. Conversion of the old Interstate Typewriter building on Sherman Avenue into a restaurant and office space also has stalled out due to the rules, said Dave Yadon, city planner.

Alice Taylor is worried that she won't be able to give her six children land that's been in the family since 1906 if new subdivision rules are passed. "We always wanted our children to have this piece of property," Taylor told Kootenai County Commissioners Monday. "It has roots ...(and) it's nice to have the children close. "Is there a chance for an exemption for me?" asked Taylor, who lives near Hayden.

Suburbs keep encroaching on Bill and Marilyn Steinpreis. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review