Public Periscope

Maybe he can get a decoder ring

Mayor Jack Geraghty, who served on the Spokane County Commission from 1964 to 1971, told council colleagues he’d asked the current commissioners for one of those nifty gold badges they wear. But hizzoner was turned down…Commissioner Phil Harris bought the six gold badges at $53 a pop in July - three for the present commissioners and three for “emeritus” commissioners of service past… “I guess you’re just too emeritus,” joked Councilwoman Phyllis Holmes.

Just wondering

Public Periscope is loathe to inject itself into the debate over what City Manager Roger Crum did or didn’t say about stress-induced wife-beating during his job interview in Ann Arbor. We think the well-worded apology he sent to the Ann Arbor mayor and council members speaks for itself…The only question we would raise is this: Did the apology have to be written on city of Spokane stationery and faxed from a City Hall phone, since it was so obviously connected to non-city business?

No exit?

An alert Periscope reader called to take issue with an item two weeks ago that mentioned “the Havana Street interchange.” He objected to the state Department of Transportation listing that as the area’s most heavily traveled spot along Interstate 90. Ain’t no such interchange, he said; it’s at Thor-Freya…Yes. And no. If you think of an interchange as a place where there are multiple choices for getting on and off, Thor-Freya’s the place. But there is an off-ramp marked for Havana for folks heading west…Given a choice between a reader and the government, we side with the reader.

We didn’t check the ladies’ room

Planning to be the first to deface the $21 million downtown bus station? Too late…Some slob with unlimited ink and a limited vocabulary already scribbled profanities in the second-floor men’s room.

Cheetahs would arrive sooner

Speaking of the bus station, there are still no cougar sightings…Artist Ken Spiering hoped to have at least one of two bronze cougars poised beside the center’s $75,000 waterfall in time for the center’s Aug. 16 opening. Neither is in place yet, and Spiering won’t commit to a schedule…”They’ll be up when they’re up,” he said. “I’m not going to rush it.”

Just a reminder

Tuesday is Election Day. City voters get to narrow down their choices for council seats and offer an opinion on the proposed science center in Riverfront Park. Some voters will pick from among the candidates who want to be county commissioner…Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

, DataTimes MEMO: Public Periscope, published Mondays, is compiled by Jim Camden from staff reports. If you have a question about government, growth or development, we’d like to help find an answer. Write us c/o The Spokesman-Review, Box 2160, Spokane 99210. Or call Cityline at 458-8800 on a TouchTone phone, then press 9120 to leave a message. Or send e-mail to jimc@spokesman.com for on-line readers.

This sidebar appeared with the story: HOT TOPICS Tuesday: Sports, Entertainment, Arts & Convention Board talks about more parking and expansion at the Spokane Center, 4 p.m., Executive Conference Room, Ag Trade Center. Wednesday: Find out how Safeway’s proposed 10,000-square-foot expansion to its Third and Maple store could affect traffic, then offer an opinion, 7 p.m., Women’s Club, 1428 W. Ninth.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by Jim Camden from staff reports.