‘We Were Here First’ Defense Probably Isn’t Going To Fly

I’ve been hit by a golf ball. It hurts a lot. I was a 12-year-old Little Leaguer at the time, pitching a golf ball to my best friend’s big brother. Big mistake. He whacked one offering back up the middle and off my shin. Needless to say, the sandlot baseball game was called off. The controversy between the Coeur d’Alene Public Golf Course and an adjacent apartment complex made me think of my own experience with a golf ball. Modern technology and stronger players have rendered obsolete the 40-foot protective fence at the end of the driving range. Now, golf balls regularly bounce off the apartments, crash through windows and frighten inhabitants. One woman now drives 30 feet to her mailbox rather than risk being beaned. Rather than take steps to limit their liability, course managers shrug and say they were there first. Someday, we’ll learn whether that defense will stand up in a lawsuit. I bet it doesn’t.

Department of Juvenile Corrections blows a wad

A summary of an Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections audit included this finding: “Some expenditures need more justification as to their cost benefit to the department.” Apparently, that’s a polite way of saying the department blew it, big time, last year when it purchased three new “large size” sedans for $50,993. First, the department didn’t need anything larger than a midsized van, which cost $10,000 less per vehicle. Second, the vehicles were used for routine travel by staffers even though they were fitted with a protective shield to transport juvenile offenders. Now the department is considering contracting for transport services. So, the three vehicles may not have been needed at all. But, hey, what’s $150,000 in a $22.5 million budget?

NCAA champion puts sports in right place

Here’s a reason to take an interest in the new Women’s NBA: Corissa Yasen. The 1992 Coeur d’Alene High School graduate signed with the Sacramento (Calif.) Monarchs, one of eight inaugural teams in the new league. She’ll receive $10,000 for playing this summer. Corissa averaged 11.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game for Purdue University. But she made her mark as a track athlete, winning last spring’s NCAA heptathlon title. Corissa also was drafted by the New England Blizzard of the American Basketball League. But she picked Sacramento because the WNBA plays during the summer, unlike its rival league. Corissa wants to complete her schooling next year. That proves she still has her head on straight.

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