Public Periscope

He was flush with praise

We at “Public Periscope” have followed Spokane County Commissioner Steve Hasson throughout his career including, at one point, down an alley and across a street at a fairly fast clip and couldn’t let him leave office without one last tribute. Seems only fair, because on several slow weeks, he almost single-handedly kept this column going. … We were working on a suitable panegyric until we heard Commissioner Phil Harris offer this praise for Hasson’s work promoting public sewers: “I think a lot of people in the Spokane Valley can pull the lever on their toilet and watch it go downstream and thank Steve for that.” … Anything we add would be superfluous.

Contradiction of terms

Commissioner John Roskelley joked Tuesday that Hasson is leaving a legacy as “a tax-and-spend Republican.” Hasson pledged during the 1992 election not to support new taxes that aren’t voter-approved. Yet, he championed the $4 sewer rate hike on Tuesday, and a week earlier, he had voted to extend a property tax for a year to buy parkland. … Both proposals were passed unanimously.

Git along, li’l dogies

Cows have suffered greatly at the hands of the federal government. A few years ago, a federal agency checked our bovine friends to find out how much methane they emit into our fragile atmosphere. Now, a federal judge in Oregon has branded them polluters and may be setting the stage for a major fight over grazing on federal lands. … U.S. District Judge Ancer Haggerty recently agreed with environmental groups that ranchers may need state certification before cattle are allowed to graze on federal land. The reason: The state requires such paperwork for any activity that could result in a “discharge.” Well, duh. Anyone who has spent any time around cows knows they discharge certain things, without regard to where they might be. … U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-Idaho, says, “This is not sound science - it’s judicial and executive activism.” She wants to introduce legislation declaring that such, er, discharges be declared non-pollutants. No comment on how sound the science might be for such a law, but Chenoweth does have history on her side. Large grazing animals have been discharging onto the land and into streams for eons.

Got a fair design in mind?

Next year’s Spokane Interstate Fair needs a theme. You know, one of those catchy phrases to adorn billboards, bus signs and brochures which will bring in the crowds. … It has to be geared to the ‘70s - admittedly a tough decade to capture in a few words. But write your suggested theme on a 3-by-5 card, along with your name and address, and mail it to the Interstate Fair office, 404 N. Havana, Spokane 99202 by Dec. 31. Winning theme will get a $100 gift certificate to Safeway.

Taking the initiative

Think everyone who buys a gun or bullets should have a license? Think anyone who wants to get married should have to wait 60 days? Should sex criminals be locked up for life? These and other ideas are being proposed as initiatives to the Legislature, and they need 181,667 valid signatures from registered Washington voters before Jan. 3. … Many initiatives start out with lots of fanfare but quickly lose steam, so it’s best to check with sponsors to see if they’re still active. Names and telephone numbers of sponsors of 11 different initiatives can be found on the Internet at http:// www.wa.gov/sec/initsleg.htm or by calling the secretary of state’s public information office at (360) 753-2526.

, DataTimes MEMO: “Public Periscope,” published Mondays, is compiled by Jim Camden from staff reports. Write us c/o The Spokesman-Review, Box 2160, Spokane 99210. Or send e-mail to jimc@spokesman.com. Or send a fax to (509) 459-5482. Or call Cityline at 458-8800 on a Touch-Tone phone, then press 9120 to leave a message.

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