Public Periscope

The blind leading the blind

A female Spokesman-Review reporter recently followed mayoral candidate John Talbott from the Spokane County elections office to the auditor’s office down the hall … Talbott got into a line to pay his filing fee as the reporter asked him questions about his upcoming mayoral campaign … After several minutes, Talbott and the reporter reached the front of the line when the clerk behind the counter said, “You two want a marriage license?” Both reporter and Talbott sputtered “No,” to which the clerk responded, “Well, you’re in the wrong line. Next?”

Getting into the act

TV viewers who happened upon last week’s Spokane City Council meeting might have thought they were watching a mini-campaign rally … As mayoral candidate Talbott approached the podium to talk about borrowing money to fix the streets, state Rep. Duane Sommers, also running for mayor, decided he’d better do the same … “I think I’m going to sign up (to speak),” he told Charlotte Karling, a council candidate, who was seated beside him in the council chambers … By evening’s end, Talbott, Sommers, Karling and council candidate Steve Thompson all had addressed the council on various subjects. That prompted Mayor Jack Geraghty - who’s seeking re-election - to warn that council meetings aren’t campaign forums … He also said the council was discussing removing the public forum from television during the campaign.

Destined for greatness

During a recent briefing session devoted to the $36 million project, an engineer described the Lincoln Street bridge as a future “tourist attraction” … So someday, a list of the nation’s most famous bridges might just read something like this: Golden Gate, Brooklyn, London and Lincoln.

Thrifty thinking Spokane County commissioners recently saved taxpayers at least $35,000 when they moved an advisory vote on the conservation futures tax from the September to the November ballot … No one filed to run against Superior Court Judge Greg Sypolt, so the vote on the tax used to buy land and keep it in a natural state would have been the only countywide item on the ballot … That means the added cost for a countywide election would have been solely due to the advisory vote on the tax … John Roskelley, the tax’s lead booster on the commission, said he was worried the conservation tax - paired with a vote on increasing the local gas tax - might dash the hopes of either getting voter approval in November … Still, he said, he couldn’t justify spending that kind of money on an advisory vote.

Out and about

Sen. Slade Gorton plans a town hall meeting tonight at 5 p.m. in the auditorium of the Phase II building at the Riverpoint Higher Education Park, 668 Riverpoint Blvd … Gorton will outline the recently signed federal tax package and balanced budget agreement, and how the plan will affect Eastern Washington.

Feeling secure?

Spokane County employees were warned last Monday that Olympic Security was looking more closely at employee identification cards. It was a response to commissioners’ complaints that guards are lax about checking employees coming into the building.

On Tuesday, county administrator Jim Lindow stood at the entrance for 15 minutes to see how the crackdown was working.

“I saw four people who went through security without being checked,” Lindow told commissioners. “You don’t have a secure building.”

Muddying the water

A legal advertisement last week announced plans to put a “reinforced concrete water control structure” at the outlet of Eloika Lake. Apparently, the Spokane County Conservation District no longer calls them dams.

A gallon of milk and a pinch of foresight, please

County planners will be in three Tidyman’s stores this week to collect shoppers’ comments about schools, roads, zoning regulations and the like. The notes will go to a group writing a new land-use plan.

The planners come to the Argonne Road store on Tuesday; the Latah Creek store on Thursday; and the Five Mile store on Friday.

Historic opportunity

Commissioners are taking applications for a three-year term on the county’s Historic Landmarks Commission. Application deadline is Aug. 18.

Other openings are for a builder to serve on the Construction Review Board and someone for the Mental Health Advisory Board. Deadline is Aug. 21. For information, call 456-2265.

, DataTimes