Public Periscope

Flight plans

Good news for all those travelers who worry they are late for their plane at Spokane International Airport. Effective this morning, the speed limit on Airport Drive is going back up to 50 mph, and the three-way stop signs and flashing red lights on Post Office Road are coming down … The lower speed limit and stops were put in last May, as a precaution during construction of the new Ground Transportation Center. The center is where the rental car agencies, buses, taxis and courtesy vans will be operating. It opens today, also.

Coming to a mailbox near you

This may not be the cheeriest news for St. Paddy’s Day, but it does have something to do with green. Your green, headed for the county. Spokane County Treasurer Linda Wolverton says her staff will begin mailing out real estate tax statements today. All statements should be in the mail by the end of March … Which gives taxpayers only about a month to get the first half of their taxes in by April 30. But look on the bright side: You’ve got another 6 months to come up with the other half … Unless your taxes are less than $50, that is. In that case, the entire amount is due at the end of next month.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

An alert Spokane driver passed along a bumper sticker he’d recently seen that he considered: A) a bad attempt at humor; or B) absolutely terrifying. The sticker read, “I can’t go to work today. I heard voices telling me I should go home and clean my guns.”

Attention, plane buffs

Two tidbits for those readers who have intimate knowledge of B-52s as something other than a rock band or an after-dinner drink. There’s a new group, the B-52 Stratofortress Association, forming and holding a reunion for anyone who flew, fixed, built or just plain likes the big planes. It can be contacted at 498 Carthage Drive, Beavercreek, Ohio 45434-5865 … On an international note, a B-52 was installed recently as the centerpiece for the American Air Museum in Duxford, England. The old D Model (which has the tail number 0689, for those of you who track such things) flew about 200 missions over Southeast Asia. It was given to the Royal Air Force in 1983, and has been sitting at the site some 50 miles north of London, since then. The new museum opens this month, and will be officially dedicated by the Queen in August.

The Republicans are coming

Residents of several Spokane legislative districts will have a chance to meet, greet and harangue their legislators on Saturday during of town hall meetings. If you live in the 4th District, which is primarily the Valley, there’s a 10 a.m. meeting at the Tri-Community Grange, near Trent and Starr Road, and a 1:30 p.m. session at the Valley Library, 12004 E. Main with Reps. Larry Crouse and Mark Sterk … If you live in the 6th District, which is Northwest and South Spokane, except for the downtown core, Reps. Duane Sommers and Brad Benson, and Sen. Jim West, will be Whitworth College at 10:30 a.m. and at Sacajawea Middle School at 3 p.m. (Despite our previous prodding, the collective staffs of the three legislators insist on calling Sac a grade school) … For those who live in the 9th District, which is the southern third of Spokane County as well as Whitman County, Reps. Mark Schoesler and Larry Sheahan will be at the Moran Prairie Grange, 6006 S. Palouse Highway, at 10:30 a.m.

, DataTimes MEMO: Public Periscope, published Mondays, is compiled by Jim Camden from staff reports.

This sidebar appeared with the story: HOT TOPICS Tonight and Tuesday: The state Parks and Recreation Commission needs a new plan for Riverside State Park, but first it wants to plan how to make the plan. 7 p.m. both nights, at the SFCC Student Union Building tonight and the city Wastewater Treatment Plant Conference Room, 4401 N. Aubrey White Parkway, Tuesday.

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