Public Periscope

Listen up

We hope county Commissioner Phil Harris was paying close attention last week during a special session on the state’s open meetings law offered at the Washington State Association of Counties convention in Spokane. If so, could he please share his class notes with his colleagues?

… Two representatives from the state attorney general’s office and a Seattle attorney who represents news organizations moderated the session on “Open records and open meetings: a primer on the law.” When one gets past all the fancy legal words, the advice came down to a few simple concepts: Most meetings should be open; only a very few should be closed. When in doubt, keep the meeting open. … Perhaps this advice would have kept Harris and his fellow commissioners from holding a closed “executive session.” Ostensibly called to discuss “personnel issues,” the session actually was used to discuss a controversial fairgrounds contract. … Harris didn’t stick around for the convention session on open records.

Might’ve been a record

Friends of kidnapped psychologist Don Hutchings will be painting the Monroe Street graffiti wall this afternoon, reprising the yellow ribbon and date the Spokane man was abducted in 1995. Their earlier effort lasted longer than any other “posting” on the wall in recent memory - three full weeks, with only some minor touch-ups needed. … The wall is the transient home to various listings of rock concerts, professions of undying love and taunts inspired by high school rivalries. So it was nice to see that graffiti artists could heed the request of the organizers to leave the Hutchings message up so long. … This time, the group hopes to keep the sign up through Friday, the two-year anniversary of the kidnapping.

In case you were wondering

We have the final, official, no-foolin’ tally of the Seahawks stadium vote from Spokane County. After counting 113,416 ballots, we can officially report - drumroll please - that 42,626 of you voted “yes” for that wonderful plan to enhance sporting opportunities and keep Seattle a major-league city. But 69,590 voted “no,” opposing an expensive sports palace that you just knew is going to wind up costing you money, no matter what the supporters say. Individual reasons may vary, of course. … The vote totals equal a ratio of 38 percent “yes,” 62 percent “no” - just a percentage point different from the tally on election night. … And yes, we did the math and know that the yeas and nays do not add up to 113,416. That’s because 1,160 voters didn’t punch their cards - strange since they probably paid 32 cents to mail in a blank card. Forty others punched their card twice, even though there was only one issue.

, DataTimes MEMO: “Public Periscope,” which is published Mondays, is compiled by Jim Camden from staff reports. You can write us at The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane 99210; or send e-mail to jimc@spokesman.com or send a fax to (509) 459-5482.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Hot topic Wednesday: The joining of property rights and community values will be discussed at a breakfast sponsored by the Citizens League of Greater Spokane and KPBX radio. County Commissioner John Roskelley, Spokane Home Builders Association executive Al Haslebacher and civic activist Sue Kaun will field questions at 7:30 a.m. at Cavanaugh’s Inn at the Park.

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