Public Periscope

A Web site worth checking

Project Vote Smart, a bipartisan group that was founded by folks as diverse as Newt Gingrich and George McGovern, has something new for those who would like to be politically active. Their Web site has instituted CongressTrack, which allows voters to check how their favorite senator or representative is voting on many issues from the last campaign … It’s an ambitious undertaking, and has plenty of information about different bills on a couple dozen topics. But it has a weakness. To be fully tracked, a congressperson had to respond to the group’s National Political Awareness Test. Candidates who didn’t - that includes some in Washington, like Rep. George Nethercutt - don’t get the full comparison … It does say how those folks voted on the various bills, however. Type http://www.vote-smart.org into the URL finder, then click on CongressTrack to check it out.

What’s in a name?

Maybe you didn’t know that educators have a new name for those frustrating kids who show up at school unprepared, care little about their studies, break the rules, lie and run away. These are not goof-offs or delinquents, according to a statement from the University Center for Professional Education … They are, instead, conduct-disordered youth.

Momma told me, ya better shop around

Bargain hunters gotta love the contract the Spokane Airport Board signed last week for painting the rotunda ceiling at Spokane International: Jones Painting Inc. of Tacoma agreed to do the job for $12,779 … Hometown boosters might grouse about the job going to the only out-of-town bidder, when four locals wanted the work. But those bids ranged from $23,242 to $73,508 for the same job … Plus, Jones got high marks from former customers on the West Side, and must post a bond to assure the work is done properly, airport staff said.

If we buy 350, are they free?

More good news for taxpayers: As Periscope reported last month, the county was set to pay $60 apiece for 250 insulated trays on which meals are served to jail inmates, prompting Commissioners John Roskelley and Phil Harris to instigate a search for a better deal. Since then, the manufacturer has agreed to sell 300 trays to the county for $43.50 apiece, a savings of nearly $2,000.

Spring has sprung, and so’s our suspension

City of Spokane transportation director Bruce Steele told the City Council last week his street crews will start working day shifts today - a clear sign the crews are gearing up for warm weather and a season’s worth of street paving and pothole filling. “We’ve declared this as the beginning of spring,” Steele said … The declaration prompted Councilwoman Phyllis Holmes to request a favor: “Now that we know you’ve got the power to declare spring, could you do it two weeks earlier next time?”

Getting involved

County commissioners appointed Bud Morrison to a seat on the Spokane Interstate Fair Board. Morrison is part of the family that has farmed Saltese Flats in the Spokane Valley since the 1890s … Any farmer in the Fairfield/Rockford area that’s interested in noxious weeds - getting rid of them, not growing them, of course - can apply for a vacancy on the county noxious weed control board. Send a resume to the County Commissioners Office, 1116 W. Broadway, Spokane 99260, before April 2.

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

This sidebar appeared with the story: HOT TOPICS Wednesday: County Commissioner Kate McCaslin will hold her first quarterly town hall meeting on issues important to the Valley. 7 p.m., Horizon Junior High School, 3915 S. Pines. Thursday: County commissioners and City Council members will have a special joint meeting to discuss sewage, domestic violence and roads. 1:30 p.m., Spokane Arena.

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