Public Periscope

Deja vu all over again

The flap over Newt Gingrich retaining his House speakership and a suggestion last week that Bob Dole be named in his place seem eerily familiar. When House Speaker Jim Wright was teetering on the brink - thanks in large part to Gingrich - there was talk about bringing in an outsider to become speaker. … The designated white knight in 1989 was former President Carter, who was considered above the fray and above reproach. It didn’t happen then, and it isn’t likely to happen now either. … But such speculation is possible because the Constitution doesn’t require the speaker to be a member of the House; it only requires the House to “chuse” one. (Apparently the Founding Fathers did not have a spell-checker on their quill pens and parchment rolls.) But no House ever has gone outside its membership to name a speaker, no matter how fractious the times have been. … If you use the above bits of historical data to impress your coffee break companions or to win at “Trivial Pursuit” this week, you can thank the person who taught all this to us here at “Public Periscope” - the person who held the job between Wright and Gingrich, Tom Foley.

Mr. Zip on the job

Drop a local letter in a mailbox in Spokane, and chances are better than 9 out of 10 that it will be delivered the next day. That’s the finding of an independent audit of U.S. Postal Service delivery around the United States. … Price-Waterhouse checked 95 cities across the country, and more than 70 of them met the goal of delivering local mail overnight at least 90 percent of the time. Spokane hit 91 percent, which put it on a par with Albuquerque, Billings, Las Vegas, New York and Tucson, while Seattle was up at 94 percent. … In congratulating local mail sorters and carriers, “Public Periscope” wishes to note we would have been more impressed had the letter announcing these laudable results made better time. Mailed on Dec. 19 from Washington, D.C., the press release from Postmaster Marvin Runyon made it across country in eight days, which seems a bit much - even considering the holiday crush.

The perks

Washington Gov. Mike Lowry, on a tour of flood-ravished areas, joined the lunch crowd at Rockford’s Harvest Moon Restaurant on Friday.

The restaurant, known for its generous portions, apparently got carried away with Lowry’s burger and fries.

“The governor’s got more fries than I normally get,” one regular told a waitress.

“He’s a Democrat,” quipped the waitress.

This must end

First there was Firestorm ‘91, then Ice Storm ‘96. Now, press releases from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department are referring to recent floods as “Meltdown ‘97.”

What’s next in this alarming trend? Heat Wave ‘98? Boring Ordinary Weather ‘99? Cougars Finally Win 2000?

Getting involved

The city of Spokane is looking to fill three spots on the Sports, Entertainment, Arts and Conventions Advisory Board by Friday and two spots with the Sister Cities Association by Thursday. Applications are available at the mayor’s office.

, 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. Or send e-mail to jimc@spokesman.com. Or send a fax to (509) 459-5482. Or call Cityline at 458-8800 on a TouchTone telephone, then press 9120 to leave a message.

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