The Hot Seat Our Weekly Look At People In The News

Brought tears to our eyes

The Hot Seat salutes the men and women of Oklahoma City who poured their hearts, souls and sweat into helping others. In the midst of the horror, some poignant scenes gave us hope that most people are still good at heart. Firefighters carrying babies. The long blood-donation lines. And the medical volunteers gathered at the hospital, holding signs with their specialties printed on them: respiratory therapist, lab tech. A class act of humanity.

Hey Steve, here’s a Sunday morning surprise.

Steve Hasson, you’re familiar with the Hot Seat. Today, we’ve cooled it down and we invite you to sit, for some praise not scorn. You didn’t bend to GOP party pressure and appoint their anointed one, Lynn Schindler, to an empty seat in the Washington state House. You chose Mark Sterk because he once ran for office and because you didn’t want the process to be a rubber stamp. By law county commissioners, not the party, pick House replacements. You did your job. Congratulations.

Pay no attention to the council behind the curtain

Boy, that lovely piece of property that sits between the library and the falls on the Spokane River gets more expensive by the day. The developers have filed a $3 million lawsuit against the city for allegedly blocking development plans. The council’s now applying for federal money to buy the land. What a mess. So we have a suggestion for the council. Non-city residents are charged a fee to use the library. Why not charge them to look at the view? Place a dollar in a slot, and a huge purple curtain opens. Ten minutes of beautiful river vista. Soon enough, you’ll have the money for the land - and the lawsuit.

MEMO: The Hot Seat is a feature of the Sunday Opinion page. If you would like to nominate someone for the Hot Seat, call Scott Sines at 459-5405.