Public Periscop

Larger than (real) life

The trade magazine Public Relations TACTICS featured a profile last month of Mayor Jack Geraghty that described Spokane as a “city of more than 350,000 in Eastern Washington.” Maybe they didn’t get the word that city-county consolidation failed last year. … In a two-page Q-and-A, Geraghty talks about the perils of being mayor - “I get a lot of free lunches. You have to watch your waistline” - and how his PR job had prepared him for his role as a politico - “In government, public relations is really public information and communications with people.”

Street art

Speaking of Geraghty … In an early morning breakfast last week with Bill Pupo, the mayor questioned the acting city manager about the colorful street marks used by the city to mark where water, sewer and other utility lines lie. The city spends a lot of time and money cleaning up graffiti, Geraghty muttered, only to create its own “street graffiti. I hope that stuff washes off.” … Pupo assured him that it does, but Geraghty still had doubts about the system. Seems much of the time, maps of the ancient utility lines lying beneath streets aren’t exactly up-to-date. “It doesn’t give you a lot of confidence when you have a dotted line (drawn on the street) and it has a question mark beside it,” Geraghty said.

We didn’t know he had a donkey

County Commissioner Phil Harris has a new name for the state’s Growth Management Act, which often goes by the abbreviation GMA. “‘Got My Ass’ - that’s what it stands for,” said Harris, who predicts the law will be repealed by a Republican governor and Republican-controlled state Senate he hopes voters elect this fall.

If there’s a session, he’s set

Newly appointed state Rep. Lonnie Sparks of Spokane’s 3rd Legislative District got his committee assignments last week: Appropriations, Law and Justice and Financial Institutions and Insurance. He also inherited the Olympia phone number of his predecessor, Dennis Dellwo, who has moved on to the Eastern Washington Growth Management Hearings Board. … Sparks must win the Democratic primary and the November general election to make much use of the assignments and the phone number, which, by the way, is 1-360-786-7946.

We have a winner

Washington state has selected the winning sculpture for its memorial to World War II veterans. A majority of the 12-member selection committee went for a design that features five 14-foot bronze wedges that reveal groups who took part in the war plus a field of 4,000 bronze wheat stalks that represent each state resident killed in the conflict. … It was one of three designs that toured the state earlier this year to give residents a chance to comment. The memorial will be built on the Capitol campus in Olympia, with completion expected in 1998. The state has to raise $500,000 in private donations first.

Getting involved

The Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Spokane is looking for volunteers to help hospitalized vets. Volunteers can call 327-0250. … Spokane County Commissioner John Roskelley recently was elected to the state board for The Nature Conservancy, a non-profit group that operates nature sanctuaries, including 29 preserves in Washington. … The city of Spokane still is taking applications for openings on the Bicycle Advisory Board and the Human Rights Commission. Apply at the mayor’s office, 5th floor, City Hall.

, DataTimes MEMO: “Public Periscope,” published Mondays, is compiled by Jim Camden from staff reports. If you’ve got a question about local government, growth or development, we’d like to help you find an answer. You can write us c/o The Spokesman-Review, Box 2160, Spokane 99210.

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