Public Periscope

How do you spell Spokane? S-E-A-T-T-L-E

The city of Spokane may have designs on the Linwood neighborhood, but it sure doesn’t know how to win its heart … On all the maps and descriptions of the city’s proposed interim growth boundaries, the neighborhood’s name is misspelled … Someone obviously confused the North Side neighborhood with the coastal city of Lynnwood. Of course, we here at The Spokesman-Review didn’t help the matter by parroting the city’s mistake, much to the chagrin of the several irritated residents who told us of our screw-up.

Someone has to do it

An anonymous caller to the newspaper told us he once worked as a truck driver for a film production company. The man said his take-home pay was nearly $2,000 a week and he ate crab legs for lunch. If that’s the case, then City Councilman Chris Anderson’s eight-week stint as a driver on the set of “Dante’s Peak” could be rather lucrative. At $16,000 for two months, that’s just $2,000 less than a full year on the council … and even living under the threat of a volcano is less stressful than most Monday night meetings.

Here’s a theory that’s all wet

Just as several city staffers predicted, the infamous Jimmy Marks didn’t miss his chance to get in his digs about the recent “pie plate” incident at City Hall … Seems an employee left the dirty pie tin in a sink that collects air conditioner condensation. The sink overflowed, leaving a stream of damage as it dripped down four floors … including drenching several legal briefs. Marks called the newspaper at least twice, at one point saying the flood was the work of the “Gypsy Curse,” and another time saying the city is trying to destroy evidence he needs for his lawsuit.

Serving up kudos

We’re pleased to report that U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt recently received the Thomas Jefferson Award for promoting economic prosperity and free enterprise, a press release informs us. … We’d use the nice “grip and grin” photo they sent of the congressman receiving his award and issue much bigger congratulations if the notice, from Food Distributors International, didn’t mention he was one of 234 members of Congress to get the award. And if we could remember just exactly what Thomas Jefferson did to be connected with international food distribution.

Getting involved

Linda Tompkins, a Spokane attorney, is the new chairwoman of the Washington State Transportation Commission for what she calls “a challenging year.” The commission oversees the state’s transportation system to try to make it safe, dependable and environmentally responsible … Tompkins is a past president of the Central Valley School Board and past president of the Valley Chamber of Commerce, and a board member of the Spokane Regional Council.

, 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, Wash., 99210. Or e-mail to jimc@spokesman.com. Or fax to (509) 459-5482. Or call Cityline at 458-8800 on a Touch-Tone phone, then press 9120 to leave a message.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Hot Topics Friday: The Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a discussion of the region’s air quality “challenges” at its monthly Issues and Answers session. 7:30 a.m., Spokane Room, Chamber of Commerce, 1020 W. Riverside.

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